Voices from the Past: The Fishing Hole by Douglas Malloch

THE FISHING HOLE

By Douglas Malloch

I know a dandy place to fish,

The kind of place that makes you wish 

There never was no work or school, 

An' all you had to do was fool 

Around all day with line an' pole 

An' pull 'em out of that there hole.

The Crick is swifter there a lot

But, to one side, there is a spot 

Among the boulders by the hill, 

An' there the water's always still. 

There water-beetles like to ride 

An' there is where the big ones hide.

A bunch of spruce an' cedar grows

Beside the fishin' hole an' throws

Its shade across that little pool

An' keeps it always dark an' cool 

The hottest days—I tell you what

There ain't no better fishin' spot!

An' all you need is just a fly 

An' keep it sort of driftin' by

So it will ketch the fishes' eyes 

An', jiminy, how they will rise!

There ain't no place on all the crick 

The big ones seems to be so thick.

The poorest fisherman, I guess,

Could go up there an' git a mess; 

An' all you need is line an' pole 

To pull 'em out of that there hole.

What's that? Where is it?

—Well, 

You needn't think I'm goin' to tell!

-- Dr. Todd