Fishing On The Susquehanna In July

a Poem by Billy Collins

I have never been fishing on the Susquehanna
or on any river for that matter
to be perfectly honest.

Not in July or any month
have I had the pleasure -- if it is a pleasure --
of fishing on the Susquehanna.

I am more likely to be found
in a quiet room like this one --
a painting of a woman on the wall,

a bowl of tangerines on the table --
trying to manufacture the sensation
of fishing on the Susquehanna.

There is little doubt
that others have been fishing
on the Susquehanna,

rowing upstream in a wooden boat,
sliding the oars under the water
then raising them to drip in the light.

But the nearest I have ever come to
fishing on the Susquehanna
was one afternoon in a museum in Philadelphia,

when I balanced a little egg of time
in front of a painting
in which that river curled around a bend

under a blue cloud-ruffled sky,
dense trees along the banks,
and a fellow with a red bandana

sitting in a small, green
flat-bottom boat
holding the thin whip of a pole.

That is something I am unlikely
ever to do, I remember
saying to myself and the person next to me.

Then I blinked and moved on
to other American scenes
of haystacks, water whitening over rocks,

even one of a brown hare
who seemed so wired with alertness
I imagined him springing right out of the frame.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• fishing
• Billy Collins
• poetry

[RuggedPoet1]

Beautiful poetry! Very nicely done! Cheers!

[bobyard123]

is that u kid

[amarcordeon]

I appreciate so much this poem full of touching words

Bravo

*******

Lillo

[sonofwalt]

Love Billy Collins. But living on the Susquehanna, I felt I had to write a poem in response. :) Thank you for this reading. Very nicely done!

[RebelWithAFrog]

longest river in the continental US without commercial boat traffic, yet i have never been fishing on the susquehanna either. maybe i should leave this manufactured room long enough to have the pleasure...

nicely read.

[tygre97]

Great to hear your voice t, it's been a long time!

[jcmegabyte]

Nice reading!  There's something very relaxing about fishing, especially in calm waters :-)

[rockafeladave]

very nice, high five

[marycigarettes]

may your creative imagination always take wings as it clearly does in this fine poem.

[XOtericate]

I enoyed the poem and your recitation! I hope there's more to come!