I want to continue my tribute and share one of Lee Bennett Hopkin’s poems today.
I know I shared this picture book last year, but I didn’t share this particular poem. Lee wrote this one and I wrote to him about it. It’s genius!
You see, “Manger” is a collection of poems about the birth of Jesus as told from the point of view of all the animals around him. There is a certain expectation of barn animals and a few surrounding in the countryside. But Lee’s was a perspective I wasn’t expecting to find in the book and it was so simple. It made perfect sense to find a poem about fish talking about someone referred to as a “fisher of men.” And yet it had NEVER once occurred to me (or anyone else that I know of for that matter). It is simple and elegant and joyous all at the same time. This was also Lee. His laugh was contagious. His welcoming spirit was a joy to be around in any context. I share the poem with you here today in memory of him.
I loved it for so many reasons. I love fish and had saved this collection of poems to read in December. I had just designed my own fish Christmas card and felt a synchronicity with the poem. I will always love this poem.