FEATURED WRITER: Byron Hoot Co-Founder of the long-standing Tamarack Writer’s Group, Byron’s poetry has been published in multiple journals and anthologies. Poetry Featured title: The Fisherman by Girard Tournesol, winner of the 2018 RMAML Poetry Contest Images Featuring photographer Greg Clary with full-page photo inside Prose Personal essays and short stories by Paul Staniszewski, Mike Weible, Joe Taylor, and more Fall 2018 Edition An extremely local literary magazine for Northwestern Pennsylvania thewatershedjournal.org [email protected]photo by Greg Clary
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Poetry Images Prose - The Watershed Journal · The incessant squealing. They're seagulls, but they could be vultures, circling the decaying carcass of this dying little Lake Erie
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FEATURED WRITER:Byron Hoot Co-Founder of
the long-standing Tamarack
Writer’s Group, Byron’s
poetry has been published
in multiple journals and
anthologies.
PoetryFeatured title:
The Fisherman by Girard
Tournesol, winner of the
2018 RMAML Poetry
Contest
ImagesFeaturing photographer
Greg Clary with full-page
photo inside
ProsePersonal essays and
short stories by Paul
Staniszewski, Mike
Weible, Joe Taylor,
and more
Fall 2018 Edition
An extremely local literary magazine for Northwestern Pennsylvania
Elk once roamed freely in Pennsylvania. By 1867, because of hunting and habitat exploitation, the elk disappeared. Elk were reintroduced to Pennsylvania beginning in 1913. The first herd of 50 Rocky Mountain Elk traveled from Yellowstone in Wyoming by train. They were released into Clearfield and Clinton Counties. Two years after the initial successful release, an additional 95 elk were transported for release. This was the beginning of elk or “wapiti” herd that exists today.
The elk continue to thrive and now the herd numbers nearly 900 animals. The elk remain in large groups throughout the winter months. They must dig through to snow to find grass, twigs, and buds. They will eat bark off of trees and drink water from the streams to sustain themselves. The bulls shed their antlers in the spring, while the cows are birthing calves.
The elk range covers approximately 835 square miles within Cameron, Elk, Clearfield, Clinton, and Potter Counties. Every year in the fall tens of thousands of visitors flock to Benezette to witness the annual mating ritual known as the elk rut.
I recently traveled to Benezette to photograph some of the elk that are known to inhabit the area. Well, I ended up in a wooded grove adjacent to a field and noticed a decent-sized bull feeding in one of the many food plots quite a distance away. I laid down my camera bag to move closer to get the shot that I wanted. Then I heard a noise behind me and turned around to see collared-bull 2D checking out my camera bag. (Please note that selected elk are collared by the Pennsylvania Game Commission to monitor their behavior to better manage the herd that number about 1,000 animals.)
As recently as 12 years ago the Winslow Hill area of Benezette was completely decimated by strip mining. A cooperative effort between the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, the PA Department of Environmental Resources, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and many other organizations and groups collaborated to convert this wasteland into habitat for elk. Now this section of land is now known as the Winslow Hill Elk Viewing Area. This project will serve as a model for how various agencies within State government and other organizations can work together to create an environment to support the elk for present and future generations in order to make Pennsylvania a better place to live.
Elkby Paul Staniszewski
photos by Paul Staniszewski
6
I am alone on this street.
The old Victorian house with shutters dragging toward the lawn,
Its brilliant color now irrevocably muted as the wood dampens, worms and begins to rot.
The tall, stately storefront with crumbling brick, disintegrating purpose,
Was once built by a man who felt proud and strong,
Like that brick.
I look around and there are fewer,
There is less.
Piece by piece it blows away with each gentle breeze,
The imperceptible grace of destruction,
A town in entropy.
I am alone on this street.
And I am oriented by purpose, imbued with power, and in a state of pure inspiration,
As I rearrange the crumbs of this place,
I create a masterpiece of dust with my hands,
And wait for the next gentle wind to carry me away.
Fewerby Jessica Weible
7
photo by Greg Clary
Wise women
do not move stones
or jostle hard hearts.
They know what lies beneath —
worms, stingers, sizzling snakes,
angry at the uncovering
and ready to creep
into any warm place.
Wise women
feel the stone,
have a hunch
what waits, hidden —
barbs, mockery, cold contempt
angry at itself
and ready to destroy
warm blood.
Wise women, please
do not move stones.
Invertebratesby Patty Zion
photo by Janette Schafer8
Lawrence Edward Darrow, Nobel Prize winner for
his work in theoretical physics, lay belly-down on a
large blue towel, face toward the ocean, toes pressed
into the warm sand, sipping lemonade (with just a
splash of vodka) through a straw, his attention focused
on the book propped up in the sand in front of him.
He wasn’t a huge fan of science fiction, preferring
instead to keep his interest focused on academic
books that advanced and inspired his career, but this
novel had captured his interest from the opening
paragraph, and had held his attention for the past three
days of his vacation. It wasn’t so much the writing itself
that captured his interest, but instead was the theme
and concept of the writing, which so mirrored his own
very recent work with time, event horizons, alternate
realities, dark matter and wormholes. This new area of
his work was so unique and different, and so outside
the scope of his earlier work, that he decided to keep it
very, very secret. He knew it was groundbreaking, and
if he could develop successful models to prove it, he
might very well find himself a two-time winner of a
Nobel prize for physics.
The author of the novel, an unknown whose name
Lawrence could not even remember without looking at
the book’s cover, had somehow managed to construct
a storyline so fascinating, so scientifically accurate, so
plausible, and so filled with anticipation, that he could
not stop reading it for fear of missing anything in the
story that might confirm aspects of his own studies. He
was amazed that a novelist, and not someone who’d
devoted his life to theoretical physics, could so
accurately write about concepts so complex, and in
such astounding depth.
Even more puzzling was the fact that the writer
specifically spoke of concepts that were identical to the
thought-problems that he, Lawrence, wrestled with on
a daily basis. How could he know these things? It’s fair
to say that he was even slightly troubled by the notion
that a novelist—even one with a firm grasp of physics
—could have come up with an idea so closely tied to
his own secret work. Lawrence was as
fascinated as
fascinated as he was puzzled, but so caught up in the
story that he decided he’d have to learn more about
this author when he was finished reading the book. But
for the time being, there was a great book to be
finished, and he could not wait to read the conclusion,
which lurked just pages away.
The hero of the book was also a theoretical
physicist, but living about one hundred years in the
future. Lawrence had loved the idea that this hero just
happened to be a woman, but had grown a bit
perturbed with her when the story revealed that she
wasn’t entirely above some shady behavior, something
he considered very unbecoming for someone in his
profession. He had always considered science to be a
search for the truth, but he wasn’t willing to become
unethical in his search for it, and that’s what bothered
him slightly about Dr. Lucy Winslow.
The plot of the novel had focused around Dr. Lucy’s
exhaustive work on wormholes and the bending of
time, and in particular on finding a way for humans to
leap not only through time, but through other
dimensions. This aspect of her work is what had
captured Lawrence’s imagination almost immediately.
In the novel, Dr. Lucy had succeeded in creating a
small wormhole in a laboratory setting, and had
successfully transported lab rats through it. Even more
amazing was that she could send them forward or
backward through time and space, with the rats
emerging back at the laboratory, very much in the
present, yet much younger or older than they had been
when they departed.
Lawrence had developed successful equations to
support this idea, but had never been able to build a
successful model, not even at the particle level.
Throughout the novel, Dr. Lucy’s work had progressed
to the point where she had constructed a much larger
wormhole, one capable of transporting humans through
time and space. It was at this point that Lawrence
found himself growing angry at the fictional Dr. Lucy
Winslow, who was doing some very unethical things in
pursuit of knowledge. He reminded himself that he was
reading escapist fiction, and so decided to withhold
judgement until the end of the book, where he
assumed there would be a good explanation for her
behavior.
Continuumby Kelly Harriger
9
But things had instead taken a darker turn. Dr. Lucy
Winslow had rightly assumed that her work was
groundbreaking, and she grew very secretive about
sharing it. Lawrence understood her concerns, as he
had those concerns about his own work. But he was
frustrated to read that a respected physicist—but just a
fictional one, he kept reminding himself—would be so
underhanded as to use her groundbreaking findings
and her wormhole machine to alter the past and
reshape the future in a manner that would benefit her.
Earlier in the book, Dr. Lucy had revealed her wish to
win a Nobel prize, and with her plan now in full
operation, it appeared she had a very good chance at
doing so.
But in the last chapter, she went rogue. As a
character in the novel, she’d lost
Lawrence’s trust, and yet he
could barely contain himself to
read the ending, while secretly
hoping there was either a good
twist ending that would explain
everything, or that she’d get her
comeuppance. Over the last
chapter of the book, Dr. Lucy
had teamed up with a
professional burglar who’d made
a number of trips into the past (as well as a few parallel
trips in the present), right into the laboratories and
offices of well-known and respected physicists from all
over the world, raiding their files and offices, and even
hacking into their computers, while collecting a
treasure trove of information from the greatest minds in
the world of physics.
Lawrence was now very frustrated with Dr. Lucy
Winslow, but also very excited about the explosive
ending he knew was coming. With just a page to go,
Dr. Lucy had sent Lars, the burglar, to clean up a very
problematic loose end. One of the scientists who’d
been robbed by Lars earlier was very close to
completing work on a project that would change the
world as we know it, and Dr. Lucy was determined to
make sure that didn’t happen. Lars had stolen all the
scientist’s written works, copied all his digital files, and
fried the hard drive on all the scientist’s computers,
destroying any trace evidence of the secretive and
nefarious work-in-progress.
It was at this point that Lawrence paused, took a
long sip on his lemonade (and vodka), and took a deep
breath. He pushed his toes deeper into the warm sand.
He looked out across the ocean at the horizon, and
smiled. He was now certain that Dr. Lucy was about to
redeem herself, and that her seemingly illegal and
highly unethical actions had a pure motive behind
them, one that might save the world from a madman,
or a least a fool who had no idea what his work was
about to unleash. He turned to the last page, and with
a pounding heart, he began reading again.
“Lars parked his car down the street from the
scientist’s home, and walked quietly up the sidewalk,
careful not to do anything to
attract the attention of the
neighbors. He was dressed in a
tropical shirt and khaki slacks,
and wore a pair of Gucci
sandals. He looked up and down
the street, and then turned down
the alley beside the house. He
quickly walked down the alley,
where he encountered a grassy
embankment. He was nervous.
He had robbed many people before, but had never
killed anyone. When Dr. Lucy had first asked him, he
refused, but the money offer was simply too difficult to
ignore, and he needed the money. At the top of the
embankment, he reached back and pulled the Walther .
380 with the silencer from the back of his slacks. He
peeked over the embankment and was relieved to see
that his victim had his back to him. He walked quietly
and efficiently across the ground, stopped suddenly,
and quickly fired a single shot into the back of Dr.
Lawrence Edward Darrow, Nobel Prize winner for his
work in theoretical physics, as he lay belly-down on a
large blue towel, face toward the ocean, toes pressed
into the warm sand, sipping lemonade (with just a
splash of vodka) through a straw, his attention fully
focused on the book propped up in the sand in front of
him.”
He turned the last
page, and with a
pounding heart, he
began reading again
10
Redeemed By Amanda Carrier
Darkening glimpses of anguish
Have shot across my way.
I can feel the searing pains -
Upon my pride they lay.
When I first saw the anger in your eyes -
The way they harshly flamed,
I should have just turned away,
But I thought you could be tamed.
The years have passed quickly,
Yet the time seems to stand still.
You haven’t changed much
And I’ve about had my fill.
In ways I cannot handle,
You go from hate to sorrow.
It’s always aimed toward me,
Something you never leave for tomorrow.
Bruises and scratches,
Whatever marks you leave,
The deeper pain is felt within
The fragile soul of me.
Smother my happiness,
Do what you dare,
But you will be caught -
And I do not care.
I am done with this horrid story,
So I bid you farewell.
I’ve spoken to the authorities,
Your next stop - a prison cell.
photo by Desiree Zeller
11
Two Haikuby John Miller
Forecast
Rain's horizon lands
In splatters and cool wet drops
Awash in wishes
Saranac Lake
The clouds' soft whispers
Ducks dive and sing silent quacks
Lone boy kayaks dawn
12photo by Tricia Grunick
It’s easier to converse with self
than anyone else
always knowing what’s on your mind
and understanding what was meant
every time,
having a sympathetic ear
forever near
and a friend you get along with
just fine.
It's Easierby W.Hill
13
photo by Anthony Mangino
So, last night I was sitting in my recliner, watching television, and I happened to
glance over at the narrow strip of floor between my sofa and an end table. On
the floor, where I left it after an autumn of batting down Japanese Beetles, lay my
fly swatter. I noticed a small dark speck on it. A piece of fuzz? An old peanut
skin? A dried fragment of leaf?
I got back to watching my show and forgot about it for the moment. But it
returned to my consciousness, if only as a trivial pursuit. What could it be?
Finally, giving in to the curious itch, I got myself up and looked at it closely. It was
a mother-ugly bug, deceased for sure and on its back, but still showing
threatening pincers, and a general meanness. It would have made a fine
adversary. Me, the Grim Reaper of Bugdom, swatting and missing, swatting and
missing, then swatting and wounding. Then the coup de grace delivered, putting
the little bugger out of its misery. But I was denied, or perhaps spared, the effort.
After all I might have swung wildly and broken the lamp or pulled a muscle. So,
in the end it was as it should be, me victorious, the bug dead. But, how did it
know what its fate would have been? Death by flyswatter. How did it know to
embrace and lie upon and die upon the very lethal weapon that would have,
should have, taken its life?
I'll never know. But, I guess sometimes things just work out.
Sometimes Things Just Work Out
by Joe Taylor
14
The Mothers of our past,
We thought they'd always last,
But they had to leave us,
Though they never wanted to,
Then,
We didn’t know what to do.
Out of a young girl’s dreams,
So long ago it now seems,
She brought forth your life,
Then the world made her go away,
Even though she struggled to stay.
All of the books she once read,
The songs she sang,
The things she said,
A large part of what your world was,
Now singing only in your past,
But a part of you that will always last.
And she loved you until the day she died,
As inside she remembered and cried,
It’s just another hard part of our lives,
But the spark in that young girl’s dreams,
Is now yours, and what motherhood means.
“Through the dreams of a young girl to be a
mother and a wife, you were once created
and brought into this life.”
Mothers of Our Past By Kirke Wise
Our lives are like a dance in the fabric of time across our imagination and life. It is all
connected. So this is for you. Whoever you are, and for whomever you so deeply miss.
15
photo submitted by Kirke Wise
As a child you held my hand; I never had any fear,
Growing up I could be brave and strong, knowing you were near,
Now I try to do the same for you, as I see you slip away,
Bit by bit, more confused and distant every day,
I hope you can still feel my love and know that I still care,
Are you still in there?
At first you tried to hide the forgetfulness and confusion,
But the diseases took their toll and normalcy became an illusion,
We keep favorite music, favorite food, and lots of pictures near,
We talk about memories and family to try to keep you here,
Sometimes you smile when you look at me, sometimes you blankly stare,
Are you still in there?
Your lungs still breathe, your heart still beats,
But your memories, your personality, your mind retreats,
My faith knows you are passing into God's loving care,