"The Best Fish That I Ever Ate"

“The Best Fish That I Ever Ate”

“The best fish that I ever ate”—

Called up by what my busy wife

Has set to bake while it gets late

Takes me back over half my life,

Reminded of that other when,

Fresh from the lake we caught it came,

Mouth-watering each morsel then—

No fish will ever taste the same.

That fish of long ago reminds

Me of the pleasant hours spent

But fortunate as were those finds

I wonder where the hours went.

While even for one day retraced

Among those that I left behind

What was acquired was a taste

Of honey in the things I dined.

The fish that I await to eat

And that one eaten long ago

Come, momentarily, to meet

Where I am all at once aglow

With blessings upon me tonight

As I anticipate the fish

And savor something infinite

That’s tastier than any dish.