Shadow-Casting Poem by John Beaton

It's often said that fly-fishing is about more than fish—that it has mystical, or at least meditative, aspects. I feel that way. This little poem illustrates how my fly-fishing thoughts one day wandered the path from the river-bank to philosophy.

The title echoes a term from the book and subsequent movie, "A River Runs Through It". Away from the river Brad Pitt may have become a hellion but, on the water, he's a magician. Supposedly, by casting repeatedly in the air he can make the trout think a hatch of flies is taking place. It's a dubious concept, but the term suits the way light and fly-casting in the poem take on metaphorical significance.

The poem's form, which comes from medieval French poetry, is the "triolet". It has eight lines, and some repeat. The first, fourth and seventh lines are almost identical, as are the second and eighth. The rhyme pattern is ABaAabAB, with capital letters denoting repeats. My version has four-beat lines ("tetrameter") and the beats in the first line are:
CAST your LINE toWARD the SUN,

This poem was first published in "Gray's Sporting Journal" and subsequently also in "Eyes on BC" magazine.