While in New York, I visited the American Folk Art Museum and saw a number of portraits from the early days of the republic, including that of a prominent Quaker merchant named Preserved Fish.
Reflections of a certain Fish, Preserved by name
Preserved I am
in a state of grace
from untimely death
on a whaling ship.
Preserved to become
a trader in whale oil
and a trans-Atlantic
shipping magnate.
Preserved to partner
with the aptly named Grinnell,
also known as the bowfin, which stalks
its prey in the shallows at night.
Preserved to be remembered
as obstinate, generous, and eccentric;
Huguenot, Quaker, and Episcopalian;
yet pardoned above all.
(Reposted from the Lexington Poetry Month website: https://lexpomo.com/poem/reflections-of-a-certain-fish-preserved-by-name/)
Portrait of Quaker shipping magnate Preserved Fish at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City
For more information on the distinguished Mr. Fish, visit his Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preserved_Fish) or read this biographical sketch from The Merchants’ Magazine and Commercial Review of 1846 (https://www.geni.com/people/Captain-Preserved-Fish/6000000003937839955).
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