She was a fisherman of compliments.
He was the one who dove into the lake to fetch her the fish.
She cast her rod into many ponds
lakes and oceans
the smallest tadpoles washed onboard her ship
but she hungered for a blue whale.
the pond fish kept her hungry soul satisfied
for a little while
but she soon was parched by the lacking lake water
what would satisfy the shame she felt?
some would watch her drop her book-bag to see if a boy would pick it up for her
and sometimes they bit at the bait
but mostly they walked on by
one time at the prom she caught a huge bass
a man with a convincing smile
who told her she was the most beautiful girl in the room.
it squirmed away and she was left starving.
then a boy with scraggly limbs and tattered clothes
jumped off her fishing boat to fetch the fish that wouldn’t come on their own
he offered them on bended knee
and she was skeptical at first
but eventually she learned to eat
to nibble off the fish he caught for her
to believe the words he said and the compliments he meant with his whole beating heart.
he wasn’t the fisherman she’d expected
but she learned to catch the fish for him as well
they shared them baked in butter
or fried over a crackling fire
eventually she didn’t need the fish anymore
she believed in the person he told her she was
her soul and stomach were full
so they left their temporary home on the seaside
and built a house in a nice suburb
where they started eating beef.