The Fishing Lady

The middle aged blind lady

with the useless, date pit eyes

sleeping in their toothless sockets

used to strum a battered twelve-string

in the stalls of the market 

facing Elliot Bay and sing,

Oh I love fishing!

Let's catch us a string-a-trout!

We used to slink through the tourists

to her usual busking site and soak it in,

her Victrola tremble and guitar case 

and a change creel tethered to her feet

to stop the Boppo Boys 

from running off with it.

That happened a lot

with the Fishing Lady being blind and all.

Oh yeah,

she used to play on The Ave too -

in the alcove of the cheap jewelry store

on the corner of 45th and University Way,

facing fraternity row,

singing about crappies and pike.

Oh I love fishing!

You get-a-line-n' i'll get-a-pole!

The U-district punks and frat-boys 

would make off with her change creel there

and sometimes mess her up bad.

She'd always come back though

and I used to slow as we went past

to stare at her like she was a withered sybil

channeling God's very own fucking thoughts

and they were about fishing.

Oh I love fishing!

Meet 'cha on down at the fishin' hole!