Poem: The fish
This week’s Poet’s Corner features a further contribution from Stephen House.
The fish
I’m in horror
watching him
pull up the hooked fish
on the end of the jetty
where I am taking in the sunset
and while I know I can’t do anything
to save the fish
from this accepted by most slaughter
I look into the fisherman’s eyes
and quietly say
‘that poor dying fish’
to which he shrugs
but I get a sense
by the look he gives the fish
and me
that just for a moment
hearing my words
he completely falls into
what I said
and I suppose
that counts for something
re: the fish
and the life
it has lived
Subscribe for updates
on planet earth
our shared home.
Stephen House lives in Adelaide. The recipient of awards and nominations as a poet, playwright and actor, he has had 20 plays produced, with the majority commissioned and published by Australian Plays Transform. He has also been the recipient of international literature residencies from the Australia Council for the Arts and Asialink India. Two monologue chapbooks – ‘The Ajoona Guest House’, written on his Asialink India residency, and ‘Real and Unreal’ – have been published by ICOE Press Australia, and a third chapbook is forthcoming. His poetry has been variously published, including today’s poem, which featured on the UK website Poetry Life and Times – Poetry from the world. He performs his monologues widely, and his play Johnny Chico ran for four years in Spain. More about Stephen can be found here.