| The trout had much to celebrate—
 Not just the lure with its tasty bait
 But the way the restless ripples shone
 With pearls cast down by the sun at dawn.
 The line stayed slack, so the fish swam free
 To plunge and leap in ecstasy,
 Thrilled by the gift of life renewed.
 The angler’s joy, though more subdued,
 Revealed what the trout had overlooked:
 That fish was well and truly hooked.
 © 2003 by Keith HolyoakFirst printed in The Lyric (2003).
   |  The Happy Trout
 © 2005 by Jim Holyoak
 
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