As schoolchildren are set free for summer
When one of them inclines his head to the sky
And crows and howls and almost weeps
And earns reproval from the frazzled parent
And as the trout caught and released
Swims woozily away
But now the children must attend the summer program
Which supplements their training
To conform to community standards
Enriching them with useful craft and patriotic song
And the fish must devote precious energy
To healing the grievous lesion of the mouth
So it is for those confined and pent
Who seek the stars and find
The glare of city the blink of aircraft
Who listen for the sounds of birds and hear
The hostile roar of the freeway
The children and the trout
Survive the ordeal most of them
But at what cost and with what scars