Death of a Fisherman

From Half Rock, by Robin Durnford. Published by Gaspereau in 2016. Durnford’s chapbook, Fog of the Outport, was the subject of a 2013 CBC Land & Sea documentary. She lives in Corner Brook, NL.

because the drug’s unknown
he’s rowing with bed rails on sheets
sail-taut where the sea should be.

he bails the mattress, tiles
toss him, he feels his gut
when they unhook his pride,

IV’s where the fish should be.
he’s almost ashore, he rolls
smokes with his tongue

as he fights another wave,
coughing up a lung, squall-
eyed into the light again,

scalloped ears hear the tides
through the night monitor,
wants the anchor pulled

as the nurse handles the rigging,
dropping the sails, casting
her line into his blood,

he lets go as she pulls on
the motor, but he drifts
dangerous and strong

until he guns her
offshore to his banks
grand Elysium