the impotent salmon


i am the salmon swimming upstream
misguided by instinct to spawn an empty dream
confused by the simple, blinded by fact
i struggle to die, never look back.
i am the salmon lost in this creek
dawn to dusk, i forget what i seek
in water cold, thick as december,
i race to a place i don't remember.
i am one salmon, tired, alone
who longs for still water, moss on a stone
blink, and another rapids is near
where shallow water runs quick and clear.
i am this salmon, my destiny -
to conquer a fate of futility.
i'll jump the falls for one chance to reap
seeds i cannot sow, and could never keep.

© Mark E. Dougherty