Classic and Contemporary Poetry
HOW TO CATCH A BLACK-FISH, by JOHN GARDINER CALKINS BRAINARD Poet's Biography First Line: Thomson, the poet of the year, has sung Last Line: And feasts upon their folly. Subject(s): Fish & Fishing; Thomson, James (1700-1748); Anglers | ||||||||
THOMSON, the poet of the year, has sung And melodized the cautious, sylvan art, To lure the trout from underneath the root Of some old oak, or tempt him from his rock Deep-shelving far beneath the grassy bank, Where all is always shadow -- to the stream That sparkles in the sunbeam. Thence the hook Drags him in speckled beauty to the shore. The bard of Scotland and of nature sung For this, thy praise, sweet Thomson -- yea, and he Of loftier thought, and bolder hand, declared To nymphs and swains where their own Druid slept. But who shall sing his praise, who tells the world The way to catch a black-fish? Praise, 't is said, Is not a plant of mortal soil -- 't is naught -- And naughty is the wish to cull its weeds. Begin then, Muse, and help me to the bait, That, when the sea retires, will shelter close Beneath the sea-weed side of rocks and stones; And gange, my hook So that, nor steady pull may draw it off, Nor cumbrous thread betray its fell design,-- Sit on the bow, fair sister to the eight Who on Parnassus miss thy absence strange, And let me scull to where the young flood lifts The rockweed, as the morning breeze wakes up The daisy that the lark has slept beside. So wakes the Black-fish, and with lazy fin Paddles his round white nose in curious search For meat untoiled for, yet expected much. Beware! Thy guardian genius with her wings Of silkiness -- her breath of sea-shell air -- Her voice the whispering of the smallest bubble That rises from the oozy depths around, All give thee warning, Touch not! -- 'T is in vain. The subtle bait is sought for greedily, And swallowed without tasting -- next he lies Panting and bleeding by the fisher's side. And does he pause to moralize? -- No, no, He baits the hook to tempt another on, And feasts upon their folly. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...JOURNEY INTO THE EYE by DAVID LEHMAN THE GREAT BLACK HERON by DENISE LEVERTOV ISLA MUJERES by WILLIAM MATTHEWS SCHOOLS OF LITTLE FISH by MARVIN BELL TWO PICTURES OF A LEAF by MARVIN BELL OF FISH AND FISHERMEN by JOHN CIARDI TO A FRIEND by JOHN GARDINER CALKINS BRAINARD |
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