THE EAGLE AND THE FISH

A saucy little fish adressed an eaglet thus
"This network of waves that you notic is all sea,
The home of crocodiles that rumble like the clouds
And perils of who knows what dread variety.
It has floodtides, rock-rolling, all-engulfing, swift,
Though it also possesses precious, sparkling pearls.
We never can escape its all pervading tide –
Above us and beneath us and on every side.
Eternally young, never resting, always fresh,
To all the winds that have blown it has stood foursquare."
The fish, while saying all this, went red in the face.
The eaglet, laughing, lifted itself in the air
And screamed, "An eagle, I have nothing to do with
Your earth; its lands and seas are all beneath my flight.
Abandon your sea, come into this upper space.
The difference is clear to those who look from a height."