“A Fish Story,” read by Marcia N. Lynch.
A Fish Story
by Marcia N. Lynch
A whale went to a school of fish
To tell the tale of that strange dish
That caused his stomach such distress,
That left his insides in a mess,
Of seaweed and a strange addition,
A human man in desperation!
“I swallowed a man!” the whale proclaimed.
“Thrown overboard! By the crew disdained!
This hapless fellow left adrift
Among the loads of a cargo ship.
I saw the terror in his eyes!
And then, to my complete surprise,
I felt the urge to swallow him!
Down he went! He was quite slim.
But I got tickled by his hairy chin!
All the way, into the well,
Of the belly of a whale.”
“For three days he thrashed and gasped.
But I heard him pray at last.
He must have had a broken relation
With the God of his creation.
For his heart turned soft, I’d say,
He was sorry he’d run away
From his only Lord and friend.
But he found Him in the end.
So, in death, he would be well,
In the belly of a whale.”
“But my distress had gotten worse!
Human food is like a curse!
I had to find a sandy shore,
And be relieved of what I bore.
The town of Nineveh was within reach.
I spit him out upon the beach.
He looked quite well, for his condition,
And grateful he’d escaped perdition!
I sensed with God he would prevail
From the belly of a whale.”
“So, my fishes, now you’ve heard
My strange story, every word.
Try to remember, for I doubt
My story’s much to write about.
Don’t try to swim away from God.
He’s everywhere, in sea or sod.
His love will draw you back to Him,
No matter how far you try to swim!
Trust in Him until the end,
For He is your faithful friend.
That little man should tell his tale
From the belly of a whale.”
About the Poet
Marcia N. Lynch’s experience as a storyteller comes from working as a children’s film editor and from having been written into the story of Christ’s redemption. She studied sculpture at Mount Holyoke College. Sculpting, like film editing, requires an artist to cut out anything that does not relate to the primary subject matter, and these two disciplines have honed her storytelling skills. Marcia lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband of 38 years and has three grown children. She surrendered to Christ in 1975.
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Image is in the Public Domain.
