The Ballad of Dennis Hay
by Dr. Gordon Severance, Ph.D., JD

They called him Dennis Hay, and he fished both night and day,
In Alaska's inland bays and beckoning sea,
Piloting his "DESTINATION', fired up Hay's imagination
To just think 'fish' and where a fish would 'wanna be'.

In such a state of mind, Hay soon would find
His fishing fame indeed was legendary,
Where other anglers guessed, Hay found that he was blessed
To know Exactly where to find his scaly quarry

While some boats had bad luck's dings, Hay Kept right on landing kings....
As his anglers reeled them in with joyful zest,
Some found halibut lacking, yet you'd hear their big tails whacking
inside Hay's huge fish-filled chest.

And as the years rolled by, experts all asked why
Hay's anglers caught more fish than all the rest.
Fishing derbies they would win as they caught the biggest fin,
Still no one knew the reason Hay was best.

Then Pelican town's old sage, said "Let's turn the page"
And lay this baffling puzzle to its rest.
Hay's not one to be aloof, and he always speaks the truth,
Just ask him, "What's your secret of success?"

Then up spoke Dennis Hay, "I just have this to say:
(A weirder picture you have never seen),
It was my parent's strongest wish, to see me think'n like a fish,
So they put me through a crazy wild routine".

"Baby pablum they cut, and gave me halibut;
They fed me salmon instead of toddler's milk.
Though my boyhood was grumpy eating only humpy,
My adult life turned out smooth as silk!

"The fish my parents sought-were just the kind I caught!
Whether coho, silver, pinky, cod, or king:
My folks thus had their wish, 'cause I'm thinking like a fish,
And that fish "know how " is why my anglers sing!"