Keel Lions

by john clare

When shoals are swollen from the downward flow
of Okeefenokee storms
With rapidly rising rapids sanding shores smoothly worn
Polishing to razor edge the limestone knives unsheathed underneath
Slitting open spilling upon the shores gear scattered asunder
While lurking upon higher ground in palmetto thickets
long thin lines
snaking through the pine and sweet gum reptilian-like
Etching a tail furrow down only to disappear at the
edge of tannic and sand
What creature is this that surfaces from a calm flowing
To emerge again upon the foamy down current side?
The old timers who have dwelt long beside the roaring
Call them Keel Lions
akin to the Ant Lions who make their inverted pyramid traps
along the path
Capsizing the unsuspecting creatures that stray into their lair
To surface far beyond the shoals as discarded limbs
remnants of broken watercraft
That dared take the watery path to avoid the
deadly Keel Lions.