Gummy Fisherman

The sheltered bay disguised what was to come
Around the headland the sea sheer bedlam
Four to five meter waves and breaking on top
And a wind that was building making lots of slop

Man takes many risks for a crayfish on his table
Pots needed to be pulled from the deep reef of coral
Then baited with a fresh lot of stinking fish bait
Hoping to lure the wily crayfish into the pot mate

With the sea boiling the boat cut through the waves
Sending water and spray trying to send us to the grave
The fisherman holding on to keep their feet on deck
As the motors strain to keep a forward motion in check

The fishermen search for the buoys in the white water
The rolling sea tosses them about like a cork in a beaker
The buoys now sighted make ready to haul the pots up
Hoping that they contain a few crayfish for their supper

There is no color in the first three pots, they are baited
tossed back into the rough and deep water they landed
The last pot pulled onto the deck contains one small cray
Not a keeper, what a bummer, throw him back for another day

With head down low kneeling on the deck
Rotten bait smells making me feel a wreck
Dry retching, pale and feeling quite sick
I heave it up and let it flow over the side so quick

Boy oh boy did I let the sickness flow
Breakfast, dinner and tea all in one go
I heaved it up my false teeth went with it
Over the side and into the boiling sea I spit

Feeling miserable and quite ill, we headed back
To the bay and much calmer water feeling bush-wacked
I thought about my teeth now in the deep water
Maybe a Gummy shark gobbled them in a blur

So now I fish the bay with a toothless mouth
And I target the Gummy Shark in the bay south
Hoping that one day whilst fishing, I will be lucky
To catch the Gummy with my toothy smile you see