SONGS FOR FISHERMEN

SONGS FOR FISHERMEN

THE ANGLER'S INVITATION

Come when the leaf comes, angle with me,
Come when the bee hums over the lea,
Come with the wild flowers-

Come with the mild showers

Come when the singing bird calleth for thee!

Then to the stream side gladly we'll hie,
Where the grey trout glide silently by;
Or in some still place

Over the hill face

Hurrying onward, drop the light fly.

Then, when the dew falls, homeward we'll speed To our own loved walls down on the mead,

There, by the bright hearth,

Holding our night mirth,

We'll drink to sweet friendship in need and in deed.

-Thomas Tod Stoddart.

OUT FISHIN'

A feller isn't thinkin' mean,
Out fishin';

His thoughts are mostly good an' clean,
Out fishin'.

He doesn't knock his fellow men,

Or harbor any grudges then;

A feller's at his finest when
Out fishin'.

The rich are comrades to the poor,
Out fishin';

All brothers of the common lure,
Out fishin'.

The urchin with the pin an' string
Can chum with millionaire an' king;
Vain pride is a forgotten thing,
Out fishin'.

A feller gits a chance to dream,
Out fishin';

He learns the beauties of a stream,
Out fishin';

An' he can wash his soul in air
That isn't foul with selfish care,
An' relish plain and simple fare,
Out fishin'.

A feller has no time fer hate,
Out fishin';

OUT FISHIN'

He isn't eager to be great,
Out fishin'.

He isn't thinkin' thoughts of pelf,
Or goods stacked high upon a shelf,
But he is always just himself,
Out fishin'.

A feller's glad to be a friend,
Out fishin';

A helpin' hand he'll always lend,
Out fishin'.

The brotherhood of rod an' line
An' sky and stream is always fine;
Men come real close to God's design,
Out fishin'.

A feller isn't plotting schemes,
Out fishin';

He's only busy with his dreams,
Out fishin'.

His livery is a coat of tan,

His creed-to do the best he can;
A feller's always mostly man,

Out fishin'.

-Edgar A. Guest.

25

From "The Path to Home." Copyrighted by and permission from Reilly

& Lee Co.