Memory Fragments: Corruption

Deep Dark Down Deep Down

The fisherman goes for a day of game to its nearest pond
Unbeknownst to him, the guardian lurks deep dark down deep down
He goes without his trusty lures and baits, but the fish bite and abscond
The fisherman tries to fight them, but, alas, it gets trashed around

Hurt from the other day, he tries a different tactic
A simple bait made from previous trophies
He assures his lures that these ones will do the job, but the lures find it a little too didactic
He goes to the pond, but, there, he finds himself stuck with some low fees

Some premium entrances are required. A type of clearance for even the lowest fishing
The fisherman can't afford them. A price too high for the deepest of empty pockets
Perhaps the rates will lower, maybe they'll come to me. Said the fisherman while frowning
He waited, but the pond grew shallower. No choice but to go to the nearest water sockets

He casts his line in hopes of hitting the big time, but only mud and old boots are dragged up
Eventually, he fishes for the smallest price available. A tiny, red and yellow carp that smiles and shines like the radiant sun
It became a personal heirloom. The fame and riches that would elevate him from his stub
Too bad the light left a dry and shunned pond

When the tiny carp died, the fisherman sank into a deep and dark depression
His only accomplishment is buried. Gotten and taken in a blink of the eye
While his lures and baits sit under coats of dust, the fisherman goes out to the dry pond for one more try at a session
When he gets there, the guardian is looking at the sky. It starts to cry while also preparing to die

The fisherman asks it the reason for its tears
The guardian mumbles truths about opportunity and the wish for him to be caught
While he lurked in the deep dark down deep down, he looked at the fisherman wasting away his years
Taking only the free and easy carp. The contempt for success over everything he was taught

While taking the carp, the fisherman forgot to go for more. A symbol of conformity and modesty perhaps
He glorified the one and only trophy he ever got, and forgo the work for more
After all, it's easy to go only for the fish that flaps
Easy to play pretend in the safety of an ever-expanding shore

The guardian tells the fisherman this, and the man sits down beside it
Throws away his nets and fishing tools, getting naked to enter the shrinking pond
Now an old man, he swims straight to the deep dark down deep down's pit
The guardian at his side, it encourages him to go beyond

But the truth is, the fisherman will never reach his goal
Without knowledge, tools, and means, experience and triumph cannot be achieved
It does not matter how strong your will and earnestness are, without commitment and perseverance, you will never escape the hole
You will get buried in the deep dark down deep downs of failures. Deceived by that in which you believed but never did a thing right to get achieved