Where salt and fresh the poole renues,
As Spring and drowth encrease or swage:
Where boat presents his seruice prest,
And net becomes the fishes nest;
There sucking Millet, swallowing Basse,
Side-walking Crab, wry-mouthed Flooke,
And flip-fist Eele, as euenings passe,
For safe bayt at due place doe looke:
Bold to approche, quick to espy,
Greedy to catch, ready to fly.
In heat the top, in cold the deepe:
In spring the mouth, the mids in neap:
With changelesse change by shoales they keepe,
Fat, fruitfull, ready, but not cheap :
Thus meane in state, and calme in sprite,
My fishfull pond is my delight.
And againe.
STench-louing Flies, their father heat,
On mother, moysture doth beget;
Who feeling force of Sunne too great,
Their course vnto some water set,
There meane of calmy ayre to proue,
Twixt coole below and warmth aboue.
But carelesse of foresight in weale,
The euening deaw droplodes their wing,
So forst, downe-falne, for flight to fayle,
With buzzing moane their bane they sing,
Fluttering in waue, swimming in ayre,
That, weake to drowne, and this, to beare.
While thus they can nor liue nor dye,
Nor water-gieu'd, escape away,
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The fish and swallowes it espie,
And both them challenge for their pray;
The fish as caught within their toyle,
The Swallowes as their kindely spoyle.
The fish, like Swallowes, mount on high,
The Swallowes, fish-like diue in waue,
These, finlesse swimme, those, winglesse fly,
One bent their diuers ventures haue,
Fish in the drye, Swallowes in wet,
By kinde 'gainst kinde their prey to get.