The Fisherman Poem by Amrit Rathi
The Fisherman
I went to the sea, as I often do
when I have certain problems I can’t get through.
With a smile of compassion from the waves and surfs,
he greeted me graciously, and I told him my mind,
“I tell you something that you may find”,
he blinked and said, “To get some clue, ”
from what happened at the break of day
to a fisherman: it’s something new!
It was still dark before the daybreak,
a fisherman was coming towards me,
talking to himself, he said, “Dear me!
Let me cast my net early into the sea.
By the grace of God, I would say,
perhaps a big catch would come my way.”
He cast his net into the sea in the dark,
and, lo! felt a big load on it in a spark.
He jumped with joy, “Wow! Such a big catch! ”
He pulled it out fast, excited to see this batch.
But when he opened the net, he started crying:
“Nothing but stones—O God!
What a cruel joke!
I’m a poor man.
Why for me such a rude shock! ”
He sat with a stern face, throwing the stones
back into the water, one by one,
his heart full of moans.
The last stone, when the first ray of sun
fell on the water to make it shine,
was pure—so gloriously pure!
The shine of a diamond, anyone would be dazed!
As the fisherman stared at it, totally amazed,
But the hand of the fisherman had nothing to plea;
the diamond was already thrown into the sea.
“What a mistake! Forgive me, O God!
These were the diamonds and precious stones
that I threw down, I’m such a moron.”
He became crazy and mad. He got angry; he got sad.
Many good things of life,
like these diamonds, come our way:
whether love, friendship, joy, beauty, or any other valuables, one can say.
We don’t see they’re important, and throw them in waste
in our foolishness, ignorance, or haste,
until
it’s too late to be realized and faced.
What about your talents, unexplored, unattended?
What about cast-away love and relations?
Would you throw away the pearls of your experiences
along with the net of limitations and taboos,
always lost into do’s
and don’ts?
Drowning of your ambitions, could you ever think?
Your dusty dreams would you trade for anything?
We don’t count our blessings;
care not what we have;
just keep complaining about
something not there-
something we crave.
And that’s the human problem—very, very grave!
So care what you have with all your love
in the fabric of compassion for yourself and others:
you will certainly enjoy and rave!
I thanked the sea,
and hurried back home.
Perhaps just a mile!
I will light a candle,
and look for a while
at all the treasures I have in the house:
all the gems in the dust, unnoticed, uncared;
I would carefully browse everywhere,
for these precious moments like a tide of time
are going, never to come back again while,
to make my days laugh;
and the nights to quietly smile.
@Copyright reserved by the author
A narrative type poem with spark of glittering morale ‘…Care not what we have, /Just keep complaining about/If something’s not there/That we crave….’ May be from exactly we don’t know what we really want or we don’t know the worth of we’ve. Contentment is best having and great riches Thanks Sir for such edu nuggets 10 Ms. Nivedita UK
You always present a great lesson. Unlike what was said before, I don't think that your incorporated explanation of the poem at the end was necessarily a bad thing, I just think it could've been done more seamlessly. The reader is taken away from the imagery that the message is presented in, and is being spoken to directly about the lesson which breaks up the idea of the fisherman. I think the way you present the lesson separates the emotional from the logical, which keeps the reader from incorporating it on all levels.
I like the sixth stanza: So care what you have with all your love In the fabric of compassion for yourself and others You will certainly enjoy and crave! Many people have beautiful and good things around them but they don't appreciate or see them, so they throw them away. And when it's too late they say 'What have I done.' I think this piece that you wrote can teach us a good lesson. Have a nice day. B.B.
Good Job sir, Its true that god throws many a opportunity to us but we forget to the see the shine and just see the load
Each poem of yours is steeped in so much wisdom and meaning Each one is a rare, special diamond that is forever shining to ignite our heart and mind alike and make us ponder. Which of your poems is the best? I often wonder! A brilliant compostion!
Fantastic! wow, what a poem! Words put together in poetic lines to convey such an important message to the reader.You appeal to the reader in the most interesting way.And great sense of imagination too.Keep on writing great poems.10+
This piece of work tells a wonderful story in free verse. We learn a lesson from it...you will only realized precious things when it's not there anymore.I like this Mr. Rathi.Well done.
i loved it, imagination is a great thing...i loved that u did not waste it
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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12/5/2025 4:03:42 AM # 1.0.0
A great poem, poet. Really great. So submissive your utterance.In disguise of fable you have told about the reality and probability of life. 'So care what you have with all your love In the fabric of compassion for yourself and others.....' yes, this positive approach towards life is also expected from poetry, not only its distributor will solely be the Godfathers who carelessly increasing their wealth by selling such teachings. Write more poet, write more......... Regards, 10++(voting option malfunctioning sometimes but you count it by heart.) pranab