Feeding the Fishes


I've taken up a new hobby
I'd like to tell you about.
It's relaxing, not like the jobs we
Do that fill us with anguish and doubt.

So if you've some time to squander
And some extra gold to spend,
Pick up some mudsuckers and wander
With me down to the river bend.

We're going to feed the salmon!
They think mudsuckers are grand.
But you'll need a pole to put them on--
They won't take them from your hand.

So hook that fishy treat on,
And cast your line in the stream.
If the salmon haven't eaten
Yet, they'll be on it like a dream.

You won't have time to scribble
A verse, or read a book.
Those salmon will start to nibble
Your bait the minute they get a look.

They may not snap right at it.
They'll check if it's something they like,
But if you tease your line a bit
You'll soon have a massive strike.

Then reel your line in. Be quick!
They'll pull it right back out--
A puppy playing with a stick.
Those salmon aren't like trout!

Often if they are famished
They won't even stay to play.
They'll take the gift and vanish
Downstream and break your line on the way.

Sometimes they'll let you nearly
Bring them in to shore,
And you can see they clearly
Enjoy this game of tug-of-war.

But after a pleasant tussle
Just when you're beginning to tucker
The salmon will finally exert its muscle
And swallow that tasty mudsucker.

No fear, you've got another--
Just three hundred sovereigns a pair--
And the salmon you fed has got a brother
Who'll want to get his fair share.

The fishies will make you smile.
So if you would like to knock a
Few beers back and relax a while
Down by the Pachacacha,

I'll be feeding salmon and waiting--
It's all I do these days--
Feeding the fish, and baiting
The hooks, and thinking how well fishing pays.





Penned by my hand on the 4th of Sarapin, in the year 386 AF.