Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Freshwater


Your Catfish Friend by Richard Brautigan

If I were to live my life
in catfish forms
in scaffolds of skin and whiskers
at the bottom of a pond
and you were to come by
one evening
when the moon was shining
down into my dark home
and stand there at the edge
of my affection
and think, "It's beautiful
here by this pond. I wish
somebody loved me,"
I'd love you and be your catfish
friend and drive such lonely
thoughts from your mind
and suddenly you would be
at peace,
and ask yourself, "I wonder
if there are any catfish
in this pond? It seems like
a perfect place for them."


Brautigan is another good poet for the non-committed reader. The lovely drawing up top is by a girl named Brie Jenkins, who won a 2003 competition for best fish drawing for grades 4-6.

6 comments:

Beau Blue said...

Brautigan is another good poet for ANY kind of reader. -blue

Anonymous said...

Here's one of my favorite Brautigan poems of all time:

"Fuck Me Like Fried Potatoes"

Fuck me like fried potatoes
on the most beautifully hungry
morning of my God-damn life.

Maybe it's because Brautigan wrote so many bite-sized poems that he's palatable to people who aren't big poetry fans? There are many more of these shorties at

http://www.brautigan.net/mercury.html

Anonymous said...

Good poem, good poet. Thanks for posting it.

SarahJane said...

yes, he's good for everyone, like a vitamin.

thanks for pointing those out jessy. i also liked "two guys get out of a car," and a bunch more.

Anonymous said...

I don't know his stuff at all. I think the catfish poem is cute though.

A few months ago I wrote a poem called "My Friend, the Dogfish" and thought I had an completely original idea. Damn!

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed the poem very much, Sarah, and the amazing drawing by Brie Jenkins. Thank you.

johanna

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