The Old Fisherman

The Old Fisherman

He has been a deep-sea fisherman since he was a boy
Enduring many hardships but it filled his heart with joy,
To battle heavy weather, body soaked in sweat,
Nothing could compare with bringing in a heaving net!

But sadly he knows he’ll never put to sea again
His rough and knotted fingers too twisted now from pain,
The eyes that once could spot the finest fishing ground
Are blinded from the glaring sun, they too have let him down.

This stooped and aged mariner, now sits and tells his tales,
Of full nets of cod in bygone days, caught in North Seas Gales,
The younger men just shake their heads, they’ve heard it all before,
But it won’t be long until the day, they’ll be fishermen no more!

He fills his pipe, and watches, another sun go down
An old and lonely seaman, in a dying fishing town!