The Fish Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHIJKLKMNOPQRS LTUVQSWXYZOKSA2B2QQS C2C2QID2QC2E2E2F2F2D 2B2KQC2DQC2QG2H2C2D2 I2E2QJ2QE2K2UE2C2C2D 2K2K2

I caught a tremendous fishA
and held him beside the boatB
half out of water with my hookC
fast in a corner of his mouthD
He didn't fightE
He hadn't fought at allF
He hung a grunting weightG
battered and venerableH
and homely Here and thereI
his brown skin hung in stripsJ
like ancient wallpaperK
and its pattern of darker brownL
was like wallpaperK
shapes like full blown rosesM
stained and lost through ageN
He was speckled with barnaclesO
fine rosettes of limeP
and infestedQ
with tiny white sea liceR
and underneath two or threeS
rags of green weed hung downL
While his gills were breathing inT
the terrible oxygenU
the frightening gillsV
fresh and crisp with bloodQ
that can cut so badlyS
I thought of the coarse white fleshW
packed in like feathersX
the big bones and the little bonesY
the dramatic reds and blacksZ
of his shiny entrailsO
and the pink swim bladderK
like a big peonyS
I looked into his eyesA2
which were far larger than mineB2
but shallower and yellowedQ
the irises backed and packedQ
with tarnished tinfoilS
seen through the lensesC2
of old scratched isinglassC2
They shifted a little but notQ
to return my stareI
It was more like the tippingD2
of an object toward the lightQ
I admired his sullen faceC2
the mechanism of his jawE2
and then I sawE2
that from his lower lipF2
if you could call it a lipF2
grim wet and weaponlikeD2
hung five old pieces of fish lineB2
or four and a wire leaderK
with the swivel still attachedQ
with all their five big hooksC2
grown firmly in his mouthD
A green line frayed at the endQ
where he broke it two heavier linesC2
and a fine black threadQ
still crimped from the strain and snapG2
when it broke and he got awayH2
Like medals with their ribbonsC2
frayed and waveringD2
a five haired beard of wisdomI2
trailing from his aching jawE2
I stared and staredQ
and victory filled upJ2
the little rented boatQ
from the pool of bilgeE2
where oil had spread a rainbowK2
around the rusted engineU
to the bailer rusted orangeE2
the sun cracked thwartsC2
the oarlocks on their stringsC2
the gunnels until everythingD2
was rainbow rainbow rainbowK2
And I let the fish goK2

Elizabeth Bishop



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