Fishing

I feel it, first as a stir,
turning deep in the murky water.
Surfaces up for air, a twitch
on the lake in my head.
A flip, and it disappears.

Wait for it. Let myself settle
close to the edge, my reflection and me.
Next ripple, a gentle skim and a dip
holds the weight of a thought 
in the drag of my net.

Raising the pole, bent heavy,
my catch thrashes hard. Through the reeds
I can glimpse a glitter of skin.
Won’t let it go now.
I have this idea.

Hauled out and tipped in a tub,
I’m watching it flap; its mouthing pout,
that eye that stares defiantly back.
A sizeable fish. How big?
As big as a poem. See!

From The Language of Cat and other poems. 

• talking about this poem. What do you think it is describing?
• comparing this poem to Jackie Kay's poem 'River reflection', also on this site.