Paint Creek

Paint Creek
by Drew YoungeDyke

Belly-deep in Paint Creek
and leaking waders
Rippling riffles
Fill me up
In proportion to
The time I'm here.

Purple flowers on bank
I should know their names, 
               but don’t;
 My happy ignorance
 Does not diminish
 Their aesthetic effect.

Shallow surface
Over sandy bottom
Gravel under riffled current
Heavy legs above the plane
So stay in the water, 
                 of course.

Fallen log, deep shadows
Plop! Stop.
Be still, be silent
While eyes search blackness
Beneath expanding circles
Through polarized lenses.

Leaves filter sunlight
Illuminating submergence
Foggy, clear, and perfect; there:
Holding against the current,
A silver flash, a rainbow streak
Rising to the surface of Paint Creek.