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piersonpfliegerPoems
January    cold    damp    little snow. Cleaning two fish in the garage- a rainbow    a brown    both gifts. Dad taught me: Cut down behind the gill use the bend of the blade    follow the spine    flip    repeat. Hold the tail    slip the knife between skin and meat    push let the knife do the work don’t waste meat. Two beautiful fillets. Half done with the brown    his hands stiffen    red and cold. He stops    puts the knife down    stretches them     wipes them of slime    blames the arthritis    continues.     His hands never get cold.     His age never shows. Some day he will die    I realize that now.
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Mar 22, 2012
Mar 22, 2012 at 10:02 PM UTC
Cleaning Fish
January    cold    damp    little snow. Cleaning two fish in the garage- a rainbow    a brown    both gifts. Dad taught me: Cut down behind the gill use the bend of the blade    follow the spine    flip    repeat. Hold the tail    slip the knife between skin and meat    push let the knife do the work don’t waste meat. Two beautiful fillets. Half done with the brown    his hands stiffen    red and cold. He stops    puts the knife down    stretches them     wipes them of slime    blames the arthritis    continues.     His hands never get cold.     His age never shows. Some day he will die    I realize that now.
Growing up, I idolized my father. In spite of his flaws and weaknesses, he was heroic to me in many regards. This is an attempt to capture the first time I realized my father would not live forever.
#love#life#father#nature#winter#family#snow#lessons#mortality#fishing
piersonpflieger
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piersonpflieger
Mar 22, 2012
Mar 22, 2012 at 10:02 PM UTC
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