Picture credit: Keith Burnham, Leland (see the Leland Report)

Ode to the Fishing Boat 

When I was a young boy,
I met a girl,
along a nameless green canal.

The churning oil streaked water was lined with sand worn wooden planks and shacks.
Next to giant spools of drying grayed netting, I watched her in the water.
Her features were less then flattering.
She was awkward and her makeup was peeling.
But to me she was beautiful and she was forever.

I would stand next to her,
and watch the salmon flop down the man-made ladder falls,
while families walked by with their bounty of Carlson’s smoked fish and Leland candy.

Every year I would have to say goodbye,
but I swore I would be back, always.
And every year,
I return to the green canal next to the fishery,
and the first thing I look for is her.
She is always there; Lashed to a dock, bobbing up and down.
Empty of the morning catch, she rests.

– Dennis Whalen, Allen Park, MI