fisherman

fisherman

i was the strong one

they came to me

'marry the girl' i answered

or 'don't trade with him, or

'it is what it is'

my catch was good

everyone knew him

he worked with his father

and wandered the wastelands

where he listened to desert men

who found other ways than work--

mornings he stood on the rise

watching us load the nets

the sun was bright that day

the sea was still

                        'come' he called

'i will make you a fisher of men'

who knows why a man does a thing

for me, it was never easy--

watching him cast nets of words,

and other things

that telling cannot reach

i stood for him,

even when he cautioned

'i believe,' i said

'i would lay down my life'

again, he cautioned

i didn't know i didn't know

until a crow marked the dawn

i denied him three times

like he said