So distracting: a beach on Fiji, Olympic 
rainforest, or the snow-cone mountains 
of the Massif Central, more beautiful 
than National Geographic—and why not, 
they’re locked in pixel perfection—but 
Gramma always told me, “Beauty is 
fleeting,” especially when your ears 
begin bobbing in and out of this 
snow-capped diorama, your hair 
a brown amoeba, pseudopods flailing 
because no one sits totally still 
while reading any poem. And I’m shuttled 
back to 1966, the episode of Star 
Trek where Uhura’s caught in the transporter, 
protons half-here and half-other, and it takes  
all my strength not to yell, “Scotty, we’re 
losing her!”—though you only have two minutes 
left to read—but it just would be too, too rude. 

Gary Grossman,

Professor Emeritus of Ecology at University of Georgia, has poems, short fiction, and essays in 47 literary reviews. His work has been nominated for Best Small Fictions and the Pushcart Prize for 2023. For 10 years Gary wrote “Ask Dr. Trout” for American Angler magazine. His poetry books Lyrical Years (Kelsay Press) and What I Meant to Say Was... (Impspired Press), and his graphic memoir My Life in Fish: One Scientist’s Journey (Impspired Press, 2023) all may be purchased from Amazon.

Author’s website: www.garygrossman.net

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