The Striper's Soul

On that cold, damp beach,
I came to claim my fame
A hero of the inlet,
A master of the game.

It was late November,
The moon was shining full.
My hook was fresh with clam,
Set to bring my jewel.

So with a lofty cast,
I watched my bait take air.
Then down into the water,
It fell into his lair.

Patiently, I did wait,
With my finger on the line.
Waiting for the stripers touch,
Hoping he would dine.

The night was very peaceful
A couple shooting stars.
I closed my eyes and wondered,
Were stripers near or far.

And then there was a tug,
And then silence on my line.
I knew that he'd be back,
I knew that he'd be mine.

I took a quiet moment,
To think about his soul.
Are stripers much like us?
This I feel I know.

My rod just bent in half!
My heart is pounding fast!
My line is spooling out,
What a sudden blast!

He's on, I set my hook!
And then I set again!
I give him time to run,
My rod just bends and bends!

A light rain starts to form,
And sweat roles off my face.
There's no place I'd rather be,
Than in this misty place.

I feel that I just hooked him,
Yet time has spilled away.
I've been battling this nice fish,
For hours of the day.

I spin the reel a few more times,
And now can see his tail.
He hurls out of the water,
Within the northeast gale.

I bring him into shore,
And land him on the beach.
There's nothing more to question,
This fish is five long feet.

Between fisherman and fish,
The two of us did play.
I'll send him back to sea,
Until another day.

These stripers have a gaming blood,
It's nice to understand,
That they enjoy the fight so much,
They'll do it all again.

2010
Copyright © | Year Posted 2021


Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Date: 11/19/2021 2:17:00 AM
I am a total vegetarian and would hate to kill any creature! Because I see the soul of other creatures as our own! Glad the fish went back!! A very well written poem! Love the theme, the rhyme and the flow!
Login to Reply
Date: 11/18/2021 8:14:00 PM
I love the journey of the verse, Robert, I am not a person that fish, but my husband and boys did. They love the peace it gave them.
Login to Reply
Date: 9/14/2021 7:47:00 AM
Great poem, I have done a little bit of fishing down through the years, thank you for your poetry.
Login to Reply
Liguori Avatar
Robert James Liguori
Date: 10/7/2021 3:08:00 PM
Thanks for the comment! Fishing is fun and fish are beautiful!
Date: 9/1/2021 7:05:00 PM
Welcome to poetry soup. A poem filled with action and suspense :)
Login to Reply
Liguori Avatar
Robert James Liguori
Date: 10/7/2021 3:09:00 PM
Thanks. I've been busy with my poems since this first post!
Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Reflection on the Important Things

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter