The Fish - A poem by Mary Oliver


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Mary Oliver - The Fish

The first fish
I ever caught
would not lie down
quiet in the pail
but flailed and sucked
at the burning
amazement of the air
and died
in the slow pouring off
of rainbows. Later
I opened his body and separated
the flesh from the bones
and ate him. Now the sea
is in me: I am the fish, the fish
glitters in me; we are
risen, tangled together, certain to fall
back to the sea. Out of pain,
and pain, and more pain
we feed this feverish plot, we are nourished
by the mystery.

Added: on December 8th, 2004 at 5:25 PM | Viewed: 9990 times | Comments (4)

The Fish - Comments and Information
Poet: Mary Oliver Poem: The Fish Poem of the Day on: Aug 10 2004 Comment 4 of 4, added on May 23rd, 2006 at 4:08 PM. i seemed to think that the poem was about perhaps and instance wihich occured earlier in her life, or perhaps the fish was representative of someone she loved, or maybe even herself. what do others think? tillie from United Kingdom Comment 3 of 4, added on May 23rd, 2006 at 3:37 PM. You are what you eat! Crazyman from United States Comment 2 of 4, added on December 8th, 2004 at 5:25 PM. to jeffery and ben--what poems don't suck in your opinion? i like this poem because it's about death.... fishlover from United States More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, The Fish, has received 4 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Mary Oliver with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!

Poem Info
The Fish Last read: 2010-02-09 12:08:19 Poem of the Day on: Aug 10 2004 Viewed 9990 times. Added on December 8th, 2004 at 5:25 PM.

Oliver Info
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