Flying Fish!

FLYING FISH!

One moment I am deep in the depths,

With the waving, widdershinning weeds,

With the clams stuck fast to their outcrops

And the pebbles and the reeds;

There, where the water eddies

In shades of inky blue,

And only a glimpse of the sunlight

Ever chances through;

Where the eyes of the other fishes

Loom up and then dart away

And I can only imagine

The sky and the light of day.

Suddenly, the feeling grips me;

I must rise, up, up through the gloom!

Propelled by desire I rocket

Out of my liquid tomb!

I swoop straight up through the water

Fueled by my desire.

Past schools of phantom fishes,

Higher and ever higher!

And the surface is like a barrier,

Overhead there's a sheet of glass!

I hear a tremendous explosion

As it breaks to let me pass.

For a glorious second I hang there,

Suspended in mid-air,

I see the sun and the blue sky

And I wince at the glitter and glare.

Then I drop like a stone to the water,

To return to the moisty deep,

To dream of my great adventure.

My leap! My leap! My leap!

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