in the past

in the past or
on any give day
or lonely night
i used to throw
the net over the
side of the boat
and pull it up
when it got heavy
and full. i'd
throw the whole
mess of flopping
crazy fish onto
the deck and sort
through them, one
by one. it was
tedious work.
heartbreaking at
times. and sometimes
they'd put up a fight,
or snap, or wiggle
out of your hands
and slide back into
the sea. and i
realized that this
was not the way to
do it. so i dove
and went under
to meet just one.
eye to eye.