Fight For Freedom

the zen of deciding what to do after you catch a fish

Fight For Freedom

After Witnessing a scene with birds flying and fish swimming,
Mao Tse-Tung noted in his 953 poem Changsha,
“all creatures fight for freedom.”

A fish in grayish scaly dress
follows my line
a bite and it has submitted its’ will to me

Inside the bait bucket
it swims riotously
banging its’ nose into the sides
flinging itself upward again and again
trying to defy this clandestined plastic gravity
trying to lift itself beyond the resin walls

TodayI am God 
it’s life is mine
I can choose to free this fish
or
use it for bait
maybe feed it to the heron
who paces suspiciously to my left

Fight For Freedom

I think of Mao Tse-Tung’s observation
and my God-thought is to let the fish go
let its’ nightmare of captivity subside
let it grow into a tougher, worthy opponent
and breed that trait into the eggs of others

My God-hands tip over the bucket on land
to grant it the wish of long fish life
to go forth and be free once again to swim at will
free to be back in it’s liquid land
and the moment I reach down
my cat snatches the fish
and runs away with a portable meal
this lessor feline demi-god has interceded fate
has tampered with mans’ free will

Mao was right
freedom IS so fleeting
in the snap of a few seconds
freedom is abandoned
to the decisions of a higher power
a higher power-
a cruel cat on stealthy toes..

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