I go to the poetry group
To listen to other poets
And sometimes read my own.
But she reeled me in!
She caught me like a fish upon a line
And reeled me in!
 

All I said was "I like your poem".
"Are you an actor?" she asked in reply
"Are you a film star?"
All I wanted was a chat
And possibly some friendship.
Nothing more.
 

Just as every time a fish
Opens its mouth
It fastens more securely on the hook.
So at everything I said or did
She pulled a little on the line
And reeled me in.
 

And just as, for a fish once caught,
There is no escape, so it was for me.
Soon the line was pulling tight
And I was dancing like a silver fish
Upon the crystal waters
Of a Downland chalk stream.
 

When all I wanted was a friendly chat.