Remember, a dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live one to swim upstream.
quote by W.C. Fields
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
It's a Fish's Life
Swim fish, swim! swim for your life!
The fisherman's coming you're tea for his wife!
Swim fish, swim! your fastest yet,
You must swim quickly, to avoid his big net!
Swim fish, swim! right out to sea!
For I am a shark waiting, and you're dinner for ME!
poem by George Howard
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Any dead fish can flow down the river but it takes a live one to swim back up stream.
Fishees Underwater
Fish have many pretty colors, they live beneath the waves
Some fish seem to swim in schools while others live in caves
Some are short and some are small and some are stringy thin
Some of them are wide and tall and some just dig right in.
There's not much light beneath the waves of all our great big seas,
But all the fish don't seem to mind, they somehow still can see
Plants live down there, under water and make things seem so nice,
That all the fishes dance around and always check things twice.
Some fish swim deep down there, others they just won't
Some of them seem unafraid, but most of them just don't
Some fish have large shiny teeth, some have none at all
Some of them swim hastily, while others only crawl.
Of all the fish and animals my favorite is a star fish
If I find one on the beach, I stop and make a wish
I pick them up and throw them back, far out into the ocean
And hope they learn to not return, or repeat that silly notion.
poem by Daniel Lloyd Kennedy
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Fish with no tail
as i gaze out of nature... i have seen a fish without a tail
impossible but its true, first things came up to my mind
is, ask whether its worth to give time to remember all
the scene or perhaps, just a memories of a simple
goodbye
as the fish swim, deep beneath the crystal blue water, i
couldn't remember the minutes, the hours past, nay i felt
that i haven't taken my meal, it seems all are just a blink
of a second in my eyes
it keeps on bubbling, even in a thousands seconds it
stay in the water, until i notice that the fish fail to surface
beneath the running water, for the absence of the tail
the body is nothing
all is just a mirror of a fish that, every movement of the
body, the twist of the tail has to follow, its a paradox to
believe that we see the tail of other fish, nay never we
saw that we don't have tail of our own
like the fish it swim, with no direction, only an inspiration
that we can do, yet as it goes there we go, tail that swim
in the water stream with no affection of what to do
now i see, how to swim, in water, lou! where i may go...in
the world of stream when everybody is frame......
poem by Antonio Liao
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We Fish
We fish, we fish, we merrily swim,
We care not for friend nor for foe.
Our fins are stout,
Our tails are out,
As through the seas we go.
Fish, Fish, we are fish with red gills;
Naught disturbs us, our blood is at zero:
We are buoyant because of our bags,
Being many, each fish is a hero.
We care not what is it, this life
That we follow, this phantom unknown;
To swim, it's exceedingly pleasant,--
So swim away, making a foam.
This strange looking thing by our side,
Not for safety, around it we flee:--
Its shadow's so shady, that's all,--
We only swim under its lee.
And as for the eels there above,
And as for the fowls of the air,
We care not for them nor their ways,
As we cheerily glide afar!
We fish, we fish, we merrily swim,
We care not for friend nor for foe:
Our fins are stout,
Our tails are out,
As through the seas we go.
poem by Herman Melville
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Water runs a whole mile downstream easier than an inch upstream.
Fish vs. Humans
The fish swim in the coral
and we get stuck in school
Some fish are trapped forever in the aquarium inside the tanks
Some people are trapped by wrongdoings, and are put in prison instead of spanked
Fish swim in schools that look similar to them
Teenagers stay in clicks that I'm sure will never end
Sometimes I go to the aquarium and I admire all the fish
I wonder how many times fish think 'to be a human is all I wish'
poem by Rebecca Bell
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Caring For a Dead Fish
When the cupboard is bare
And the cat’s had the cream,
Who cares about a dead fish?
When the house is on fire
And the birds have all flown,
Who cares about a dead fish?
When your loved ones have gone
And you’re left all alone,
Who cares about a dead fish?
When the seas have dried up
And the land is all desert,
Who cares about a dead fish?
When the Sun has gone Nova
And we’re all blown to bits,
Who cares about a dead fish?
When it’s all empty space
And there’s nothing at all,
Even a dead fish would be worth caring about.
poem by Pete Crowther
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Reflections On A Recurring Dream
Floating downstream ...
... or upstream?
Light flashing through gapes in the over-hanging tree branches
... or from Pulsars whirling in some distant galaxy?
Colors blazing
Nature displaying the abundance of its’ pallet
... or mind’s eye imagining colors never seen?
Textures untouched yet felt
Sounds unheard yet sensed
Faces
With features morphing
Strangers... for the moment
Morphing
Faces
Known and loved
Friend and enemy
Faces from the past
... or from the future?
Shadows
Silhouettes
Marionette-like movements
Movement
I move
Things move past me
Floating downstream or upstream?
Running
In slow motion
My feet are stones
I claw at objects trying to propel myself through molasses atmosphere
Flying!
I work so hard to fly
Someone sees me up here above the trees and points
I flap harder intuitively aware that I must not be caught doing the impossible
Floating
Brushing rustling leaves
Gliding barely above trees
... Just High enough to feel safe.
poem by Mary Havran
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Fish Out Of Water
You always said you were the compassionate one
But now you're laughing at the sun
With all your high class friends you think you've got it made
The only thing you made was that tanned look on your face
With all your cigarettes and fancy cars
You ain't a clue who or what you are
You're dreaming your life away
Fish out of water
Go swim in the tide today
Fish out of water
We used to sit and talk about primal scream
To exorsice our past was our adolescent dream
But now it's sink or swim since your memory fails
Now in Neptune's kitchen you will be food for killer whales
And on the crucifix his mother made
Hangs one more martyr to the hit parade
You're dreaming you're life away
Fish out of water
Go swim in the tide today
Fish out of water
You're dreaming you're life away
Fish out of water
Go swim in the tide today
Fish out of water
song performed by by Tears For Fears from Elemental
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Freedom
Butterflies are free
To sail the breeze
To wonder up in the sky.
To float around
With natures sound
To live, and float and then die.
Flowers are free
Along with the trees
To grow upon our Earth.
With their beauties to be seen
To fulfill Mans dreams
That is their greatest worth.
Birds are free
Like the fish in the sea
To sail upon mighty waves.
To sing their song
To swim their quests
I wish I could, as I pray.
Man Isn't free
Though He wish He could be
To grasp life by the hand.
To reach for the Stars
And not knowing, “Too Far! ”
But sadly, Man is but Man.
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave
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I needed to explain that Louisiana's coast accepts the drainage from two-thirds of the United States and, while the necessary levees constructed upstream have prevented floods, they have also contributed to problems downstream.
quote by John Breaux
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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How We Heard The Name
The river brought down
dead horses, dead men
and military debris,
indicative of war
or official acts upstream,
but it went by, it all
goes by, that is the thing
about the river. Then
a soldier on a log
went by. He seemed drunk
and we asked him Why
had he and this junk
come down to us so
from the past upstream.
“Friends,” he said, “the great
Battle of Granicus
has just been won
by all of the Greeks except
the Lacedaemonians and
myself: this is a joke
between me and a man
named Alexander, whom
all of you ba-bas
will hear of as a god.”
poem by Alan Dugan
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Cobwebs Of Dreams
The cobwebs of Dreams
It was a clear day…too clear I thought. Mother sat in the kitchen
and sunlight made her white hair into a halo. I asked her who
old she was. Ninety two, she said, knew I was trapped in a dream
as she didn’t live that long. By the slow river I saw furniture drift
along. Brother said that people who lived downstream went
upstream to buy furniture, to save on transport cost they dumped
the stuff into the river where relatives, downstream, picked it up.
Sometimes they lost a table or a commode but that’s a risk one
has to take. I knew this too was a dream, Walked along a soft road,
in a forest, but something was wrong there was a strange red light
emitting from the trees, now I was trapped inside a painting by
a mad Russian artist; luckily I had a flick knife. It is morning, that is
I think it is, sometimes the line between reality and the subconscious
merges, perhaps yesterday is today
poem by Oskar Hansen
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Whatever It Takes
Well, I've been drawing little hearts in the morning paper
Lookin' for a house an' a couple of acres
You'll be mine some time, sooner or later and I can't wait
Like a busy ol' bee savin' up it's honey
Honey I'm savin' up all my money
To have you I'll do anything I have to, whatever it takes
Whatever it takes to win your love
I hire me an airplane, have it paint your name up in the sky above
I tell the world I'm yours, put it on a billboard out on the interstate
If it takes forever to get us together
Honey I'll do whatever it takes.
Well I've been yellin' your name from a lookout mountain
Tossing my pennies in a downtown fountain
Makin' my wishes I'm hopin' they're countin' for love's sake
I swim upstream in a ragin' river
Walk through fire do you get the picture
I swear I bare anything to get there Whatever it takes
Whatever it takes to win your love
I hire me an airplane, have it paint your name up in the sky above
I tell the world I'm yours, put it on a billboard out on the interstate
If it takes forever to get us together
Honey I'll do whatever it takes.
Whatever it takes to win your love
I hire me an airplane, have it paint your name up in the sky above
Yeah I tell the world I'm yours, put it on a billboard out on the interstate
If it takes forever to get us together
Honey I'll do whatever it takes.
Well if it takes forever to get us together
Honey I'll do whatever it takes.
song performed by by Kenny Chesney
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Tomorrow Never Knows
listen to the colour of your dreams...
turn off your mind, relax and float downstream
then it's not dying, then it's not dying
lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void
and it is shining, it is shining
now you may see the meaning of within
it is being, it is being
love is all, love is everyone
and it is knowing, andit is knowing
let ignorance and hate mingle with dead
it is believing, it is believing
oh play the game, existence to the end
of the beginning, of the beginning
of the beginning, beginning
turn off your mind, relax and float downstream
it is not dying, it is not dying
play the game, existence to the end
of the beginning, of the beginning
of the beginning, of the beginning,
lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void
of the beginning, of the beginning, of the beginning
song performed by by Our Lady Peace
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Fish Dinner
I don't want to swim the ocean
I don't want to swim the sea
I don't want to eat the fish
And I don't want them eating me
I'm sure I wouldn't make a tasty dish
So I won't bother them, if the fish agree!
poem by Donna Nimmo
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The Fish Year
Marico brought back a tank with salt water from Brazil,
Wnetta bought small stones and water plants from pet store,
The red fish and black fish were got from
Hua’s backyard pond,
After Chris checking the filter
and water temperature,
everything is set,
and the fish is ready to grow and bred.
Gundi feeds the fish everyday,
and watches them day and night.
The red fish swim up and down,
The black fish swim down and up,
The green water plants swing their long leaves
upside down.
We can hear the talk from the tank:
One lady, two ladies, three ladies…
One man, two men, three men…
American, German, Chinese, Brazilian,
Indian, Russian…
The fish is counting! ! !
Counting the people in the lab!
Maybe they learned the counting from Gundi,
Gundi is a great mathematician,
She always counts when she watches them:
One fish, two fish, three fish…
Red fish, black fish, red-black fish…
That’s our first fish year,
we expect to have the second, the third,
and then for ever.
poem by Dongming Zhou
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Deep Waters
I am every where-
all immersion-
surrounding you;
yet you cannot see me;
my name's unknown
my love unknighted;
not shown.
I give you my All
you swim in it
suffused with that joy
which
is unknown
to even itself.
You come and you go
and I labor in this love
giving birth
to you in my soupy midst;
seeing your dreams small
and large grow tall and fit.
I see them swim away too soon
swim away
because
I am water
and you are fish.
I surround you in my dreams at night;
you swim in your world
unaware of me.
But your mouth opens and opens again
drinking of me
which gives you life;
keeps you alive
in the dream world we share.
Above the water line
is the other world
of boats steamers and reality
But here below
under my cover,
it is only
you and I
but only I in the end
since fish you know
never
discover
water-
until
its gone.
We are all fish then
unaware of the dreamy water world
which makes fish possible.
poem by Lonnie Hicks
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Pierre The Penquin
'I have just been swimming to catch my fish. I have 3, I love fish it is absolutely delicious, I don’t want them cooked, I can’t see the sense in that, I will eat them raw one by one and savor every bite. They are cold and slippery to slide down my throat. I will eat my fish first, then I might go for another swim, or I might go for a snooze for a while.'
Who knows?
Pierre the penguin has just been swimming,
to catch his evening meal.
He does not need a boat for this,
or a rod or reel.
He can swim very fast,
and catch his fish quite easily.
Pierre is well equipped for this,
has you all can see.
He has a flipper on each leg,
that makes him very strong.
So, when he goes swimming,
he can stay out there quite long.
The fish are cold and slippery,
to slide down Pierre's throat.
The oil in the fish,
gives Pierre his lovely coat.
After his meal,
he might go for another swim,
or he might go for a snooze.
Which one do you think,
Pierre, should really choose?
poem by Pamela lutwyche
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