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The Goose Fish

They were "shaken" as if by "stage fright" under the moons light and stood in the sand together embarrassed to even look at each other yet still stood "hand in hand" (10-14). If they are lovers then they should not have any need in embarrassment with each other and this reinforces the idea that they just made love for the first time. They continued to stand "hand in hand" up until they saw below them a goose fish floating up dead with a huge smiling face as if the world had discovered their deed (15-18). These lines in the poem describe their sense of paranoia, fear of their love making being discovered by other people. They might be scared of people discovering their love making because maybe they are involved in another relationship at the same time. Or it might be somebody they are embarrassed to be with. .
             The last four lines in the second stanza and the third stanza put an emphasis on the discovery of the dead goose fish that washed ashore at there feet and not the two lovers. They are interested with the goose fish mainly because they are trying to interpret the meaning of its smile. There in the soft light of the moon lays the dead goose fish that was very old and "corrupt" and dismal. Neither the man nor the woman knew what to think of the symbol of the dead goose fish or of his large smile. They just paused wondering what the symbol meant (19-22). Just before that incident the two lovers thought they understood; by "violence" on the "sand" would have been the only way anyone could have known but the only way "to make the world their own" (23-27). In this third stanza the goose fish is described as corrupt, which can be interpreted as decaying, decomposing, or spoiled. Also this corruption might be view as their relationship. If this relationship is wrong the image of corruption could be their action of being involved with one another. .
             In the fourth stanza the two lovers make the decision to make the goose fish an "emblem" or symbol of their love for one another and their acceptance of the fish's ambiguity and of their own relationship.


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