A "Rise"

by Ernest McGaffey

Under the shadows of a cliff Crowned with a growth of stately pine An angler moors his rocking skiff And o’er the ripple casts his line, And where the darkling current crawls Like thistle-down the gay lure falls. Then from the depths a silver gleam Quick flashes, like a jewel bright, Up through the waters of the stream An instant visible to sight— As lighting cleaves the sombre sky The black bass rises to the fly.