The New Fish

I am like gentle Jesus, meek and mild;
Pure Parsifal’s my name – I’ve seen the Grail:
Upon her smiling radiance, I’ve smiled,
Behind the cloak-and-dagger of a veil.
There high within a castle’s vaulted room
Where witnessed by some always solemn knights,
This naïf became the sacred bride’s new groom,
While happy benedictions burst with lights.
The next day I went fishing with the last
Of her bridegrooms, a man already dead;
He pointed to the trees, the skies, the vast
Aliveness of the throbbing world, and said,
“She’s healthy now, for you’re here now. Your life
Is sacrifice before this happy wife.”