Uncle Bob Told Me

by Christina Baumis

Lake Freeman was lowered, to aid in endangered bivalve recovery.
Sheepnose mussels, Plethobasus cyphyus,
elongated, oval shell, with thick, solid valves,
light yellow to a dull yellowish brown periostracum.

A short-term brooder with an unknown sexual maturity.
Egg fertilization at the beginning of summer followed by glochidial,
parasitic larvae, release later in the season.
Sheepnose mussels live in swift currents, but shallow areas. 

Nearby Prophetstown and Battleground are fertile with history.
Tucked in his bayou, Archeologist students sift finding artifacts.
Resting among the silt an Indian maiden, light yellow to a dull yellowish brown.
Her interment in swift currents, but shallow areas.

Christina Baumis is the recording secretary for the Poetry Society of South Carolina. Her poems, writing, and visual art can be found in Kakalak, The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Passager Books Pandemic Diaries, 2023 Irmo Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku, as well as The Haiku Foundation’s Haiku Dialog.