When some new thing opens my eyes 
I’m a sapling planted in rich, warm 
black soil—a granite pebble dropped 
into a pond thirty feet deep, 
falling faster and faster (I 
know—gravity doesn’t work that way), 
except suddenly, I need to own 
every book or piece of equipment 
for my new hobby—beginner to 
advanced—stone sculpting, watercolor 
painting, no-till gardening, until 
leaving my study means weaving 
my way through skyscrapers made of
unread books. 

I’m not good at just dipping my toe 
in the water, I’m a whole leg or even 
a torso kinda guy, and I know this 
isn’t really “healthy”—a word I 
frequently ask myself these days,
“is this food healthy,” “is this cocktail 
healthy,” and you might think, at fifty-five 
I’ve learned impulse control and not bought 
books one through eight of the latest sci-fi 
series, but gravity doesn’t work 
that way, and I do love the slightly 
acrid smell of new ink on paper, 
at least for the six months it takes me 
to accept I’ll never read these books, 
and my hands do tremble just slightly 
when I realize that no one can save 
you from yourself, because gravity is 
a constant, regardless of height or mass. 

Gary Grossman

is Professor Emeritus of Animal Ecology at University of Georgia. For 10 years he wrote the “Ask Dr. Trout” column for American Angler. His poetry is published in 37 literary reviews, including Verse-Virtual, Your Daily Poem, Poetry Life and Times, Poetica, Trouvaille Review, MacQueen’s Quinterly, Poetry Superhighway, Muddy River Poetry Review, The Knot, Delta Poetry Review, and Delta Poetry Review, among others. His creative nonfiction appears in Tamarind Literary Magazine; and his short fiction, in MacQueen’s Quinterly, which nominated his microfiction “Mindfulness” for The Best Small Fictions 2023 anthology.

His first book of poems, Lyrical Years, is available from Kelsay Press, and his graphic novel, My Life in Fish: One Scientist’s Journey, is available from http://www.garygrossman.net/my-life-in-fish-one-scientists-journey/. Hobbies include running, music, fishing, and gardening.

Author’s website: www.garygrossman.net

And his writing blog: https://garydavidgrossman.medium.com/