Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE COLD-WATER MAN; A BALLAD, by JOHN GODFREY SAXE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE COLD-WATER MAN; A BALLAD, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: It was an honest fisherman
Last Line: Cold-water man at last!
Subject(s): Alcoholism & Alcoholics; Drowning; Fish & Fishing


IT was an honest fisherman,
I knew him passing well, --
And he lived by a little pond,
Within a little dell.

A grave and quiet man was he,
Who loved his book and rod, --
So even ran his line of life,
His neighbors thought it odd.

For science and for books, he said
He never had a wish, --
No school to him was worth a fig,
Except a school of fish.

He ne'er aspired to rank or wealth,
Nor cared about a name, --
For though much famed for fish was he,
He never fished for fame.

Let others bend their necks at sight
Of Fashion's gilded wheels,
He ne'er had learned the art to "bob"
For anything but eels.

A cunning fisherman was he,
His angles all were right;
The smallest nibble at his bait
Was sure to prove "a bite"!

All day this fisherman would sit
Upon an ancient log,
And gaze into the water, like
Some sedentary frog;

With all the seeming innocence,
And that unconscious look,
That other people often wear
When they intend to "hook"!

To charm the fish he never spoke, --
Although his voice was fine,
He found the most convenient way
Was just to drop a line.

And many a gudgeon of the pond,
If they could speak to-day,
Would own, with grief, this angler had
A mighty taking way.

Alas! one day this fisherman
Had taken too much grog,
And being but a landsman, too,
He could n't keep the log.

'T was all in vain with might and main
He strove to reach the shore;
Down -- down he went, to feed the fish
He'd baited oft before.

The jury gave their verdict that
'T was nothing else but gin
Had caused the fisherman to be
So sadly taken in;

Though one stood out upon a whim,
And said the angler's slaughter,
To be exact about the fact,
Was, clearly, gin-and-water!

The moral of this mournful tale,
To all is plain and clear, --
That drinking habits bring a man
Too often to his bier;

And he who scorns to "take the pledge,"
And keep the promise fast,
May be, in spite of fate, a stiff
Cold-water man at last!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net