Song of the Fisherman

Song of the Fisherman

 

 

 

lobster boats head out

at sunrise

in Bar Harbor

 

sea gulls, in adept formation

gather wind songs in acappella  

as rippling waters rush against

the fiberglass hull

 

and the fisherman hums

a song as he goes,

the skilled navigator of the sea

charting maps with calloused hands   

tending traps

 

with the onset of years

and furrowed brow

he never laments

 

a better life

could ever be.

Reviews

[Neha agrawal]

It reads like a portrait of a life well-lived, rooted in purpose.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Thank you most kindly, Neha!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Like the Old Man and the Sea...the yearning for that one great catch to make life feel complete.
I was in Salem, Mass. once with Barbara( my dear ex) and we visited the oldest park in the United States.

There is a house with a fenced in roof and it where the women would wait and watch for their fishermen husbands to come back from their excursions fishing for whatever.
The Atlantic beckoned and then returned those men.
This has that wonderful feel...I had to look at my hands to see if the callouses transferred from the poem to my fingers.
j.

[Kelly Scheppers]

You gave me chills reading this, Jacob. How exquisite a compliment. Thank you!

[John the Baptist]

Perhaps we could all learn something from the fisherman. Few seem to find such contentment with their lives.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Thank you, John.

[MCS]

This brought tears to my eyes. Your words summoned memories of my dad and I fishing and he would always say “the sea sets your soul free.”

Poetic and simply beautiful my talented friend.

[Kelly Scheppers]

The best review I could ever receive! Thank you, Mary!

[MCS]

My pleasure. Your words are still rattling around in my head and I sense some canvas will come from your wonderful writing. I will let you know what that happens.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Please do! I am boundless with anticipation!

[Vol]

Kelly,
AH! The satisfaction of strained muscles, chores accomplished, today's living made, and the sleep of the contented, no matter how sore the back, for those folks, sleep is healing, not like the cerebral who are never tired, never worn out, always wandering sleepless through the night. It has been a long time since I met people who were not half crazy for lack of REMs.
There is no element of life quite like "never lamenting" the life you live... You know, Kelly, I am a life-long Christian and live especially by a scripture the church (demonstrably the thief) rarely emphasizes... John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
I can think of nothing more abundant than the life of that fisherman.
Vol

[Kelly Scheppers]

You may not be a man of few words, but I think that's what I like most about you. A thousand thank yous, Vol.

[Betty Hermelee]

dear Kelly
Quite a nice life this fisherman has, although repetitive, he’s out in the sea with seagulls around him the salty air, the vast ocean blue, gentle waves…. and finally a catch to bring home, he never tires, because he is a generation of fisherman in his family, a proud man….a life of pride
lovely Kelly
warmly,B🌷

[Kelly Scheppers]

My muse utterly fascinated me with this one. Thank you for a most refined review, Betty.

[Betty Hermelee]

Always a pleasure Kelly🌷
Warmly B

[Chris Shaw]

The freedom of the sea and open sky in all weathers. This wonderful poem stirs the senses Kelly. Sight, sound, taste , touch and smell are all stimulated. Oh to be a fisherman. A hard life, but an honest one and totally in line with nature. You took me there. I tasted the salt and heard the gulls caught in wind song. Lovely.

Chris

[Kelly Scheppers]

Oh, to be a fisherman! I wrote this out of the blue, with a nod to Ernest Hemingway. Your review arouses the senses, Chris. Thank you so kindly!