Be careful what you fish for

8 x 5 x 3

stoneware paperclay, underglazes, glazes

2024

private collection

Be careful what you fish for

Our daughter is getting married this weekend

To someone who found her 

when she wasn’t even fishing

But he was

He was patient. He threw a line in the water 

and waited.

(It’s something I wished I learned when I was young)

When we were little and fished off a dock 

with a poles made of sticks and some line. 

Bits of bread for bait.

We’d only catch surface fish 

or daring ones that swam up 

from the bottom 

at a chance for something good. 

But you couldn’t catch bass this way 

or trout 

or perch.
(there weren't any keepers)

No. For those fish you need a different pole 

and better bait.

And mostly patience and a little more experience.

You need time on the water. 

Quiet time 

when you can watch the surface 

and cast your line

And while you wait 

feel your line, 

learn the difference between a nibble and a bite.

Sometimes you need a boat 

to travel away from the dock 

to a different spot.

You practice catch and release,

 because not every one is a keeper.

It’s best to toss some back, 

because some need more time to grow 

and might be ready to catch next season, 

or the one after that 

(or by someone else)

But the best advice I can give (if anyone was asking)

Is to keep fishing

until you catch a good one.