Greg Keeler
A Fish I Can Hold
Tell the boys at the bar I lost it,
the muskie that ate ducks
and tore up the shallows.
The striped green dragon it was
it broke off in the lilies.
I don't care. I've had it with myths.
Give me a fish I can hold.
Tell the women I hooked them a rainbow
furious in color, brighter than promise,
shaking in the spray of a waterfall.
Airborne and big as a boulder,
it took me downstream
then broke me off under a log.
I didn't lose it. It lost me.
I promise I'm through with promise.
From now on, I'll stick to the present.
I'll give them a fish they can hold.
Tell the kids I hooked them a sunfish
big as a dinner plate, loud as a sunset
but lost it. It went under the moss
and lay there till my knot came undone.
It was my fault. I hope they'll learn to
tie their knots better than mine.
I can't teach knots. I never learned them.
I'll stick with small fish,
fish they can hold.
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