The Fishermen, by Gregory Opstad

The Blue Boat, by Winslow Homer (USA) 1892

The Fishermen

The melding of colours, like water, flows through the slough. Ripples
from the paddle stir up the bottom, mix with the shoreline.
The men are looking for a likely spot. One looks past the edge of the frame,
the other steers their course. The pine barrens beyond are hinted at by dabs
of olive and black. Tiny spars, thin brushstrokes, line the horizon.
An empty bog, lonely, fills the canvas. It’s a dark day for fishing; the men
are dressed for the weather but cumulus clouds, heavy with rain, are likely
to cut the outing short. Cattails rim the water’s edge. The boat glides
through a waterscape of lily pads and turtles. The men are as silent
as the scenery, alert for possibilities in this place. Details are blurred
in a mélange of muted colours, a wilderness of tamarack and labrador tea.

Gregory Opstad
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A graduate of the University of Arizona (BA Speech/English) and the University of Minnesota, Duluth (MEd), Gregory Opstad is a retired special education teacher. He divides his time between homes in Cloquet, Minnesota and Cochiti Lake, New Mexico.His poems have appeared in The North Coast Review; The Rag; Migrations: Poetry & Prose for Life’s Transitions; Trail Guide to the Northland Experience; Liberty’s Vigil: The Occupy Anthology, 99 Poets for the 99%; More Voices of New Mexico; Manzano Mountain Review; Thunderbird Review;  Bringing Joy; New Mexico Poetry Anthology and Apaja’simk Journal. His chapbook, Lake Country, was released by finishing Line Press in 2013. Bringing Joy won 2022 Best Written Community Creative Work in the State of Minnesota, Minnesota Author Project Award.