Fish
by Dave Perham

"Give a man a fish," they say,
"and you will feed him for that day."
But if you teach that man to fish; my dears, he'll waste that day just swilling beers.
And swapping lies with lazy friends.
And making plans to go again.
Up at dawn...gone all day.
"Gotta get that one that got away."
Oh, he'll need poles, and reels, and nets, and hats, and vests, and, don't forget:
Hooks, lines, sinkers, flies, lures...shoot!
Simms "Big Foot" waders, and "Ocean Tech" boots.
There's bait, and bobbers, license lunch.
And; you know, I have a hunch,
that charter fees will get his goat.
And, just like that, you'll own a boat.
He'll buy a truck, and a trailer, just for fun, and then the foolish son-of-gun,
Will find his sport to be best enjoyed,
when he is not at all employed.
And, if you should say: "You can't retire!" He'll either get laid off or fired.
He'll forsake his wife, his sons his daughters, just to get back on the waters,
and drop his line down through the brine, pursuing fish of every kind:
Halibut, salmon, sturgeon, trout,
catfish, dogfish, eel, horn pout.
Sailfish, sunfish, mackerel,
tuna, bass and pickerel.
And don't forget lobsters, and clams.
There are crabs, and oysters, man, oh man!
Now, he'll need rings, and traps, and pots.
A smoker, too, 'cuz he'll catch lots.
Pouring rain won't slow him down,
Heck, it's in water that the fish are found. Frozen lakes won't bother him,
he'll auger on and on and fish again.
He will not quit because of age,
infirmity, or spousal rage.
And the years will keep on passing.
And he will keep on casting.
Until you are old, and tired, and cramped, impoverished too, in some fishing camp, And, your one, your true, your fervent wish:
Is that you'd just...
...given him that fish.