Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A FISH OUT OF WATER; AN ALLEGORY OF EDUCATION, by ALAN PATRICK HERBERT


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A FISH OUT OF WATER; AN ALLEGORY OF EDUCATION, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I caught a herring long ago
Last Line: Slipped through a grating and was drowned.
Alternate Author Name(s): Patrick, A. P.
Subject(s): Herring; Oxford University


I CAUGHT a herring long ago.
And kept him in some H(2)O;

I strained his water every day,
Till all the salt was strained away,

And so I taught the little chap
To live in water from the tap.

Robbed of his customary brine
He had to face a fresh design.

Each afternoon I took about
A thimbleful of water out,

Till -- though his needs were always small --
He got along with none at all.

Gentle of heart and soft of roe,
He followed where I chose to go.

One day he took a walk with me
Upon the pier at Brightlingsea;

Alack! he made a reckless bound,
Slipped through a grating and was drowned.





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