All my fish are little

January 4th, 2008



I thought you would have bigger fish to fry, she said,
so as not to be a bother.

Ideas are big
Plans are monumental
But all my fish are little.

Ambitions are high
Visions are grandiose
But all my fish are little.

The future is vast
The past, well that’s a whole other story
But all my fish are little.

All my fish are little.
My feet step one at a time.
My hands each hold one palm.
My heart beats beats beats
A single beat
A subtle flutter.

All my fish are little.
Can’t be otherwise.
Never think differently.
Never hesitate
To say hello.

Because all my fish are little
But the ocean is so big.
And look
Here we are face to face.

12 Comments »

  1. All my fish are golden
    with hearts that beat like ours
    Come sit by my side
    on the riverbank
    Listen!
    They are singing our song

    Comment by Jena Strong — January 4, 2008 @ 1:11 pm

  2. never hesitate to say hello…

    Thank you, for my affirmation today.

    Comment by Lisa — January 4, 2008 @ 1:55 pm

  3. This felt like music when I read it.
    All my fish are little too πŸ™‚ and to you, I say hello.

    Comment by bella — January 4, 2008 @ 5:00 pm

  4. I suppose it is all relative. πŸ˜‰ The vastness of the universe, the minuteness of a quark.

    Lovely poem.

    Comment by denise — January 4, 2008 @ 5:52 pm

  5. And, therefore, I have plenty of time.

    Love it, Karen!

    Comment by Mama Zen — January 4, 2008 @ 8:04 pm

  6. Yes Denise it is all relative, and it is all absolute. All form, all emptiness. And how do we express it?

    Aaaa-choo!

    Comment by Karen — January 4, 2008 @ 8:31 pm

  7. All our fish are little,
    but at least they are fish.
    That is a start.
    A step towards peace.

    love, M

    Comment by Maithri — January 4, 2008 @ 10:12 pm

  8. All My Fish Are Little — that would make an excellent book title.

    Also, the last stanza feels like a koan to me.

    Love you.

    Comment by Kathryn — January 5, 2008 @ 6:04 am

  9. That is so sweet! I love it. Thanks.

    Comment by Shawn — January 5, 2008 @ 8:20 pm

  10. I love that! Thanks.

    Comment by Shelli — January 5, 2008 @ 8:44 pm

  11. All my fish are little
    Neither big nor small
    Neither quaint nor precious
    Never great or tall
    Just a fish, a fish I tell you
    Look for meaning and you’ll stall
    Try to force a reason
    and you’ll have no fish at all.

    Comment by Karen — January 5, 2008 @ 10:55 pm

  12. Hehehe, I wrote a blog post in which I self-identified as someone who hates poetry — but I loved your fish poem so much I had to link to it! Thank you. Looking forward to reading lots more from you. : )

    Comment by mariedrennan — January 6, 2008 @ 1:54 am

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