A Fisherman's Tale, Flash Fiction

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The sun is warm, and the breeze is cool.  I sit on the wall like so many others, but I know I’m unique.  Yet I wonder how many of them are thinking in their silent thoughts about their wife, or children and providing the best possible life for them. 

I never set out thinking I would be the man my wife would want, but I became that  man -- for her.  I still try and think of ways I could bring her more of what her heart desires.  Even as I think this, I see her warm hazel eyes peering in mine telling me, You are all I really need.

But I cannot help but wonder, still, if there isn’t something more I could do to bring her happiness, and joy.

A warbler cries from a nearby tree, leading my eyes to its branches.  I am irritated by the disruption in my thoughts, but as I turn back to look at the surface of the water, there’s a tug on my line.  As I pull back, I lift a small fish.  It struggles in a fight it can’t win. 

Then the thought hits me, the fish is so simple yet he knows he has a right to live.  He fights for what he believes is his, even if it’s only instinct telling him such.  The sunshine reflects off its scales, and everything comes into focus.

I am like the fish.  Struggling in life, swimming upstream, fighting a battle I can’t win.  We all have our place in life, but I can’t help but realize I am worth far more than the fish.  My value more than is assessable by the balanced scales of an accountant.

Taking the fish off the hook, I realize, clearer than ever that my wife was right.  I am all she really needs, just as she and the kids are all I need.  And, on the upside, even if I can’t provide more, like the corporate suits of business, at least I’m not going to be dinner.
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Hope you enjoyed my short passage.  What does this picture inspire in you -- a poem, a description or a passage?  I would love to hear it.

Comments

  1. Carmen DeSousaApril 29, 2012 at 9:00 PM

    A great analogy and most certainly one which will enspire those who read it. Sometimes it's dfficult to see our own worth, especially when others can be so callous and harsh.

    ReplyDelete

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