Shrimping For Brownies
In the brackish water of a tideland flat
A delicious creature grows up and gets fat
Louisiana Brown shrimp is its name
Their excellent flavor has brought them fame
They call them Brownies and they’re caught by net
My first time shrimping, I’ll never forget
My friend Remy was of Cajun decent
And he was my mentor for this event
Sportsman’s Shrimping License, you need to get
That allows using a sixteen foot net
Took Remy’s fourteen foot flat bottomed boat
And his shrimping gear, nothing else of note
We checked out the net as we headed south
Exactly sixteen foot wide at the mouth
Where spreader boards attach to keep it wide
The purse at the bottom is neatly tied
Shrimping in the tide water flats that day
About one half hour we dragged that sleigh
Remy said, “Now be time to check da purse”
No shrimp, no crabs, just junk; couldn’t be worse
“Don’t worry Ami”, Remy said to me
“Things be good when da tide changes, you’ll see”
“ I gonna show to you my secret spot”
“You gonna see shrimping when it be hot”
Remy motored around till I was lost
He’ll get us back out, had my fingers crossed
He made sure I couldn’t find my way back
He should have just put my head in a sack
Then I said, “Remy, stop running around!”
I’ll never find you secret shrimping ground"
With a big Cajun grin from ear to ear
“Be no more running Ami, we be here”
The tide was just starting to go out fast
Spots that were water were becoming grass
With the boat in the mouth of the deepest cut
“Get da net out now, don’t sit on da butt”
The motor was set so we stayed in place
Then easy to see what was Remy’s ace
The shrimp that were carried out by the tide
Went in the net, there was no way to hide
Looked back at Remy and he smiled at me
“This be da shrimping, what you come to see”
We just sat and talked as shrimp filled the purse
The net was so full it would almost burst
We kept catching shrimp till the tide slowed down
Then stowed all the gear and headed to town
Never saw shrimping that could equal that
Too my friend Remy, I take off my hat!
Copyright © Charles Sides | Year Posted 2011
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