something has fallen in the river
it must have been some frantic release
the river bed is all whipped up
and the river looks like mud

some creature that was angry and scared
and doesn’t know how to swim has been here
thrashing about and making a stir
you can’t catch fish that way

falling in from the bank instead of staying there
in a far safer place, in the dry
if you can’t swim you should never jump in
unless you have learned how to float

no point throwing another rope now
the creature is gone