The Fish I dive where silver schools of fish Gambol in the quiet pool, As when the heavens, tinted rich, Veil the night and startle cool;

I see the flashes in the depths, Where mirrored colors twine, Each twist’s a fibrous dream unkept, In waters pure, sublime.

So gliding on through whirl and wave, Like dancers in the night, Those silver forms, a joy to save, Will quench the heart with light.

• Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr