of all the earth’s creatures

of all the earth’s creatures

i have loved the most

is a cold blooded vertebrate

with a brain the size of a pea

rainbow splashed skin

bronze gold red and blue

i have stumbled down steep banks

slipped on slime covered rocks

slept on the ground under frost crusted tents

stood in flowing water

waving my sometimes magic wand

while heavy snow flakes

patterned the surface

then instantly disappeared

i have wandered across Colorado, Wyoming and Montana

seeking them

read tomes of aquatic entomology

and tales of those who like me

have followed this path through the centuries

the cold western rivers

and the Pacific’s deep blue depths

captured my heart

and sustains me still

---

Copyright Michael Douglas Scott

3/14/20