THE saddest fish that swims the briny ocean, The Catfish I bewail. I cannot even think without emotion Of his distressful tail. When with my pencil once I tried to draw one, (I dare not show it here) Mayhap it is because I never saw one, The picture looked so queer. I vision him half feline and half fishy, A paradox in twins, Unmixable as vitriol and vichy -- A thing of fur and fins. A feline Tantalus, forever chasing His fishy self to rend; His finny self forever self-effacing In circles without end. This tale may have a Moral running through it As AEsop had in his; If so, dear reader, you are welcome to it, If you know what it is! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BRITISH CHURCH by GEORGE HERBERT RONDEL by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE VERSES WRITTEN IN AN ALCOVE by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD SHUT OUT by KATHARINE LEE BATES HYMN WRITTEN IN DESPONDENCY by ANN ELIZA BLEECKER |