Deadhead

it is what you
cannot see
the drowned log
swimming dark under
water
like some Grendel
torn from earth and
unforgiving

it is what you
cannot hear waiting
to beat its dumb
point up like a great
fish through
gumwood planks

it is what is unspoken
of boats gone
without a trace
as if some great bird
lifted them dripping
from the sea

it is like
walking in thick grass
in snake country
watching 20 feet ahead
for the thing to rear up
and strike

against wind & water
skill & guts
against this

is what you see
in the faces of fishermen
squatting on the dock

:: Kevin Roberts, in Going for Coffee (1981)