The One That Got Away
The line went tight, and I thought, “It’s small.”
But then it pulled back like a wrecking ball.
I reeled, I fought, my arms began to burn.
That fish had strength I had not yet earned.
It was my last hook, and my tackle was light.
The catch of the day was slipping out of sight.
The line was cut, and I laughed with glee.
I caught the fish that got away from me.
The Oracle of Loss
He charts every swing, each bullish breath,
Predicts the rise and invests in death.
“Buy now!” he shouts. It dives instead.
He sells too soon, the numbers turn red.
His graphs are neat, his logic is sound.
Yet profits vanish, never to be found.
A master of timing, the worst kind, of course.
He bets on a snail; it loses to a horse.
Still, he nods, calm through the chaos and dross.
“All is going to plan,” says The Oracle of Loss.
Three Putt
Ball rolls past the hole.
I shout “Again?!” blaringly.
Blame the green. And God.
Bryant Cotterell is an undergraduate business student at Virginia Wesleyan University. He has
lived in Chesapeake, Virginia for his entire life, but is looking forward to exploring the world
after he graduates. He is currently on the PR team for The Marlin Chronicle and also plays a role
on the outreach team for his university’s literary journal The Fishbowl Review. When he is not
absorbed in his studies, he can either be found working behind the bar at Ruth’s Chris
Steakhouse or hitting lousy shots on a golf course.