Shaking The Boat Poem by C R Clark

It was in the summer of “79
Our reels were loaded with brand new line
Me and Clarence and my “cotton top” son
Went out on the lake to have some fun
Now, the Conway Lake is full of stumps
When you go through the water, there’s lots of bumps
Sometimes you hang up and there’s nothing to do
But, start shaking the boat till you finally get loose
We had just started out toward the middle of the lake
When we veered to the left and got out of the lane
Then, sure enough we ran up on a stump
And there we sat, on the stump, we were stuck
Grabbing the sides of the boat, I said
Hold onto your hats and don’t lose your heads
Having said that, I started shaking the boat
I wasn’t worried, I knew it would float
But, my crew turned pale and started to sing
Have you gone crazy? You’ll cause us to sink
It’s the only way, I said, with a grin
Once we get loose, we can cast off again
We shook and we grunted, we moaned and we groaned
And we finally got loose from the stump we were on
I started the motor and we puttered away
Hoping no one had seen us shaking that way
We hadn’t gone far till we started to cast
After awhile the crew’s color came back
We cast and we reeled but the fish wouldn’t bite
We took a vote and decided to try a new site
A “fishy” looking spot toward the opposite shore
But about half way there, a stump, we ran over
We were hung up solid out there in the lake
So we all grabbed the boat and started to shake
This time the crew took it all in stride
And when we shook loose, they both smiled with pride
So we motored on over to the spot we had seen
And anchored the boat; the fishing looked “mean”
We cast and we cranked till our arms were give out
Then we finally declared “this place is fished out”
Our success with the fish didn’t get any better
But at finding them stumps, there ain’t any greater
Than me and Clarence and my “cotton top” Son
We hung up on a hundred, if we hung up on one
When we finally decided we’d had enough
I started the motor and we started to putt
Across the lake, going back to the truck
The crew was stationed to watch for stumps
The Son in the middle and Clarence in front
By now, they were used to shaking off stumps
When they saw one coming, they weren’t bothered much
When one would appear, they would grab hold and shake
But, to me, in advance, not a word would they say
They’d shake to the left and shake to the right
And I had to hold on with all of my might
They’d have shaken me out of the boat, I admit
If we hadn’t got back to the dock when we did
For a better day, we could never have wished
Success is not measured by number of fish
Time spent with family is worth any cost
The memories of this trip will never be lost

Copyright C R Clark-6/10/81