floating nets, photograph
Thierry Bornier, 2015
From his flat-bottom boat, the Chinese fisherman
feeds out his floating nets. Tied to long poles
dug into the river’s bed, the seines slip through
his hands, swelling and curling as they rise–
dry husks, fruit leavings, curtains—then fall,
slippering into the water, drifting just
below the surface. It’s late afternoon and I am
only now learning a thing or two about
how to set the nets and pull light through.