Fifteen
She went with him only onceTo the still and silent canal,
She in her new summer dress and sandals
He barefoot in shorts with rod and line,
The keep-net slung between them.
They took a short-cut down the bank
The brambles tearing at her clothes, and when
She slipped he held her forearm lightly, briefly,
Smiling only once as they sat down
Beside the water's dark abyss.
He cast the baited line,
She watched him cast again,
Sat silently beside him as he reeled her in,
All other futures sloughing off
Like scales in grasping hands.
