The Goose Fish

“Sandpipers” by Howard Nemerov (1958)

The speaker observes sandpipers (“small, dapper birds”) on the beach in August. Their legs are like “Black toothpicks, their heads nodding at nothing.” He finds the sight of them amusing as they search for food in the sand. But when a flock of sandpipers takes flight, they are far more impressive; he thinks they have courage as they fly into the distance on their migratory journey, and they are also beautiful; as they all turn together “all their bellies shine / Like mirrors flashing white with signals / I cannot read, but I wish them well.” The beauty of nature here is a stark contrast to that other shore on which two lovers wander and discover the revolting dead fish in “The Goose Fish.”

“The Sanctuary” by Howard Nemerov (1955)

This poem is from the same collection as “The Goose Fish,” but its theme is quite different. Instead of a hideous dead goose fish, Nemerov writes about the beautiful trout that swim in the clear shallow water: “With a delicate bend and reflex / Of their tails the trout slowly glide” in and out of the light and the shadow.