Camaraderie Around the Campfire

           - our fishing vacation on Vancouver Island, BC

Giant storm-driven  driftwood scatter the beach like tinker toys.

Our boats bob ever so slightly, tied with long ropes

 to save from changing tides.

In this safe protected cove.

The quiet comforts us and

holds us close in the darkened trees.

A calm sea gently laps only feet away

 and seems to befriend us this night.

Collected wood burns low,

Someone props a grate  over glowing, orange coals.

Scents of fresh grilling salmon, damp soil, salt air,

 wet ferns and lichen-covered firs drift upward.

Salmon is dinner we caught this morning.

Prawns are appetizers we hauled in this afternoon.

Better than a five star restaurant.

Heaven to us, hungry fishermen.

Smoke stings our eyes and chases us around the campfire.

We scoot chairs closer to the waning flame.

They sit crooked in the pebbled beach.

Daylight fades and will beckon us early tomorrow morning.

At the end of a successful day,

with weary eyes and in hushed tones,

 we speak of lures, the best fishing locations,

of new knots and the right depths to fish.

A low chuckle escapes someone

 with a story of lost gear and near misses

 and winds around the circle of friends.

Time stretches its lazy arms

 to tease us and to free us.