Boy with a Net

At the edge, the very edge, net in hand
thin bamboo gigantic in five year old paw;
oblivious concentration.
There was a fish; a dab? A stickleback?
A rumble, a grumble loomed to the left -
no! There! The prey, the catch, the glittering
prize swimming, dimming bright water.
The wave unfurled across my view
as I stepped in reaching, stretching: for the fish
swam low, beyond my reach from safety’s side:
a river boat roared past, pulled me in
swept me under, the day I almost died.