I wanted to post something for Father’s Day. And I’m surprised that I’ve never posted this poem here on Metaphor before. I wrote The Fisherman for and about my Dad. It’s been published in a journal or two, and in my book Finding Oakland.

So this is for you again, Dad. Happy Father’s Day. Thank you for showing me that the best moments in life are elegant in their simplicity and pure in their quietude. Thank you, always, for literally everything.

THE FISHERMAN

is walking to the sea
at dawn in the purple
of a storm that passed on.
He turns to move on rocks
down to the water
at the base of the pier.

Seals sleep like dogs
in the wet sand, dreaming of men.
But a man will sleep in a moment
dreaming of waves that rise up
like lions digging graves
for the dead.

In the shadow of these cliffs
the day stays dark and cold
with a westerly breeze
on the back of his neck
and his net too small for stars.

So I am sleeping peacefully
dreaming of mountains and snow
while he fights his line
for the rise and fall
of silent seas and angry boats.
His life is a small fire
built to cook fish.

The Fisherman by Kyle Kimberlin
and the image above are licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Click the image to enlarge.

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter — it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

– Mark Twain 

Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.

– William Faulkner

My all time favorite writer. 

My friends, I’m having a health event and I could use your prayers and good thoughts this week. All signs point to my gallbladder being the culprit, but I’m waiting for my doctor to call about lab results.

I’ve had several attacks of significant upper abdominal pain over the past several years. Recently, the pains became frequent, so I saw my doc. He said it was suspicious for gallbladder, but prescribed a powerful antacid in case it was gastritis. A few days later, I started getting jaundice (my eyes and skin are yellowish), which generally means that the gallbladder is blocked.

Yesterday I had an ultrasound, which confirmed the presence of stones in my gallbladder. But to rule out other causes, the doctor also sent me to the lab for blood work. That’s what I’m waiting for now.

The good news is that I’ve had no pain in several days, because I’ve stopped eating fat, gone pretty much Vegan. But I’ve never had a health problem that wasn’t solved with medicine and rest. I’ve never been in a hospital as a patient.

It looks like I’ll need surgery for this. If so, hopefully, I’ll have the laproscopic option. I’ve heard that’s much less of a trial. And I understand that gallbladder surgery is very common and safe. But I’m still anxious — understandably, I think.

At the moment I feel OK. I’m just waiting for more to be revealed. In the meantime, I can use all the prayer and good energy from you that I can get … thanks!

I mean I’m following you too, as far as you know. 

A lot of bloggers have been following Metaphor lately, and I appreciate it very much. But you might be wondering why I haven’t followed back. It’s because I usually don’t sub by email. I use Feedly to sub to feeds; until recently, Google Reader. I have a lot of WordPress blogs set up there. So that’s what’s going on. 

Apropos of nothing, I really wish the owner of this coffeehouse would throw down a few bucks to pump in some heat. It’s a beautiful spring day, but it’s like a refrigerator in here. Still, thanks for the free wi-fi.