Fish Face
May 29, 2008
Deep in sea-rye live murmurs—
tales drifting to shore
about fish that can talk,
promise-making fishes,
wish-granting fishes, even fish
with human faces.
One such fish fetched up
in a net off the west coast one day
and spooked the crew, who calmed
themselves by teasing the youngest
among them. “Look, kid! Here’s
your granny! Or is it your girlfriend?”
The boy blushed, shuffled his feet,
looked out over the ocean.
The fish, who couldn’t talk,
lay dying on the deck. His life
flashed through his memory,
a saga of absurd yearning, a life
spent swimming from sea to sea
looking for faces just like these.
by Diane Gage
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Categories: Water
Diane Gage
qarrtsiluni 
I really love this poem, the progression of it, the deep layers of meaning and the caring voice of the one who wrote it. Thank you for making my day brighter and giving me something to think about. I may never look at fish the same again. Una
What a fantastic ending. Thanks.
Water is the only element for this poem. It moves so fluidly and carries
so much weight.
Such a pleasure to once again hear your clear, strong voice. I’m glad your face has looked on mine.
Wes
such a beautiful, moving last stanza.
Nice surrealistic feel to this story.
Really enjoyed it. Thanks.
What a provocative poem about how we all wish and yearn for a friendly face….whether we are of the land or of the sea!
this took me to childhood remembering … brought back so many magical stories about fish from those old fairy tales, “wish granting” and more. and then the theme of all kinds of longing finding its way into longing for faces, for familiar, for those we recognize, claim as ours, as kin. thank you.
what a lovely poem with clear eyed meanders toward and past the crew, the blushing boy, and finally the fish who’d longed for faces.
a sweet, attentive and compassionale imagination is at play here.
While this poem reminded me of those fairy tale fishes and their three wishes or swallowed rings, it also made me feel very sad. I thought of the troubles the fish are having in the terrible events happening in the ocean now and how those human faces are all too often the reasons for the difficulty. Overfishing, loss of habitat, pollution, warming oceans. What we’ve done to water and those who inhabit it! Poor fish!
I love this sad and whimsical poem, which reminds me a bit of Kafka, crossed with a fairy tale.