Music Temple
Tom invited me to see his castle on the lake
Are you sure you’ve got a castle?
“Of course I do,” he faked
But when I saw the castle it was just a little boat
With a tiny little motor; it’s a wonder it could float
The sun was barely rising
When we pushed off from the shore
Tom knew the place where fish would go
He’d been there twice before
It used to be an empty desert waiting to be filled
But now Tom calls it paradise; there’s lots of fish to kill
Far below the filtered light the Music Temple stands
Where stripers glide and seek the hook
Of fishermen from many lands
But there’s no music anymore
except the whirring of the reel
And the fish that flops upon the deck
Nevermore to feel
We waited all day long for just a little bite
What I’d give for just a nibble
But not a fish in sight
The sun burned high and hard above
Resolve was melting fast
But the fish felt sorry for old Tom
So he bit the hook at last
Far below the filtered light the Music Temple stands
Where stripers glide and seek the hook
Of fishermen from many lands
But there’s no music anymore
except the whirring of the reel
And the fish that flops upon the deck
Nevermore to feel
That night we ate a bony meal of catfish and a beer
“Go slow” Tom warned, “and take your time;
There’s nothing here to fear”
But as I swallowed carelessly
It was just like in the boat
a tiny hook from in the catfish
stuck inside my throat
I coughed and sputtered, hit the floor
But nothing could be done
And then I heard Tom say,
"I think the fish has won…"
Far below the filtered light the Music Temple stands
Where stripers glide and seek the hook
Of fishermen from many lands
But there’s no music anymore
except the whirring of the reel
And the fish that flops upon the deck
Nevermore to feel
