By Unchained
Date: 2001 Aug 12
Comment on this Work
[[2001.08.12.18.47.13011]]

Lessons with a Zebco Rod


He twitched
the tip of the rod
with the smallest flick
of his wrist
and the results were
immediate.

The water exploded
as the bass rose
and the old man
passed the rod to me.

He talked to me
telling me
how to keep the pressure
steady
but not too hard
to yeild
and then coach
until the fight was gone.

I was amazed
at the size of the fish
speachless and breathless
at how I had finally landed it.

He explained
over the course
of the afternoon
how love and relationships
were so much the same
in the way
you had to handle them.

Listening
like a child
at the feet of a great teacher
I asked how he had learned
so much.

He sniffed.
And grinned.
Perhaps there was
a tear hidden there
in the turning of his head.

He told me
in answer to both lessons
that he had been hung
many times
fished at the wrong times
in the wrong places
and lost a lot of "good ones"
either by his ignorance
or carelessness.

He had done so much wrong
for so long
he finally knew what was right
with fish and with love.
He wasn't sure he'd ever
get the chance at love again
so he sat
and prayed
and fished.