Many drawings have a catch,
The scales and eyes show a fish,
No doubt it is but a rough match,
Yet, it fulfils a child’s wish.
The tool is a rough lead pencil,
For the image to prevail,
Freely drawn without a stencil,
A tidy fish is no whale.
‘Tis a model, a good rendition,
A scaly member from a school,
A dinner hope, by definition,
The fisherman in nature’s duel.
Years hence we can look back,
A menu sketch of a dinner wish,
Good feeding from a barbecue rack,
It “got away” from our dish.
Francis Conlon is a retired and recovering teacher. For the past 20 years, he has worked as a seasonal river ranger and boat inspector at Yampa River State Park in northwest Colorado. He has published in the local Valley Voice and in Westward Quarterly. He currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.