Dream Catch
a poem by Jeff Tigchelaar
God I’d caught one
. By far the best I’d ever gotten
. Maybe even the first
It was absurdly large for Upper Silver
. this tiny manmade lake in Michigan
It was like a little dolphin
. or shark this fish
. A baby whale even
. So big it had to be
. a metaphor for something I bet
. but my father
said I had to let it go
It simply isn’t edible he stated
He cut the line before I could protest
. My catch flopped away
He hadn’t even measured
. or weighed it