"Give A Man A Fish".



"Give a man a fish
and you've fed him
for a day"; but teach
him how to fish and
he would depend on
that skill to feed
himself and his family.

The family would
extend the gesture to
others in the village
and be able to create
a self sufficient
living community, having
all their needs met.

The community would grow
an economy that they
could depend on for many
years to come, taking
care of themselves and
their children, who
would come after them.

An independent society
would have been formed;
and it would leave a
legacy fit to emulate
by their children's
children, because one
man had set a good example.

By teaching another man
how to fish, he had fed
him for life; and not only
him, but his whole house-
hold, and that would continue
throughout the ages,
till the end of time.

EMMANUEL BANDOH.
Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on April 19, 2015

Modified on March 05, 2023

45 sec read
13

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXXAXXB XCXDXEX XXBEACX BXXDXXX XXBXCXX
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 763
Words 149
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7, 7, 7

Emmanuel Bandoh

I have been a poet for the past 30 years or so. My background is in communications, working mostly for nondescript media outlets. I have lived in New York City since 1972, but now reside at Mount Vernon, NY. My passion for poetry started when I was very young, when my mother used to read me bedtime stories. She, however, wanted me to become an engineer, operating trains; but I chose other options, with being a poet as one of them. more…

All Emmanuel Bandoh poems | Emmanuel Bandoh Books

0 fans

Discuss the poem "Give A Man A Fish". with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    ""Give A Man A Fish"." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/63619/"give-a-man-a-fish".>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Emmanuel Bandoh

    »

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    18
    hours
    59
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The long poem “The Waste Land” was written by which poet?
    A T. S. Eliot
    B W. H. Auden
    C C. S Lewis
    D Emma Lazarus