--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My father is a fish." description: "\"“My father is a fish.”\" — Theodore Roethke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/theodore-roethke-4077_father_my-father-is-a-fish-657784_657784.jpg" --- # My father is a fish. ![“My father is a fish.” quote by Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/theodore-roethke-4077_father_my-father-is-a-fish-657784_657784.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/theodore-roethke-4077_father_my-father-is-a-fish-657784_657784.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/theodore-roethke-4077_father_my-father-is-a-fish-657784_657784.jpg) > ““My father is a fish.”” [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A whimsical, surreal statement that challenges literal interpretation, inviting imaginative thinking **In simple terms:** A playful, puzzling line that sparks imagination Key Takeaway Embrace absurdity and explore hidden meanings Themes creativity surrealism playfulness Mood thoughtful curious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - art class - brainstorming sessions Key Concepts metaphor language play Questions to Reflect On - What could “father is a fish” symbolize? - How does absurdity inspire creativity? A Different Perspective Literal reading may miss deeper symbolic intent ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Father Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-fish-1059570/) [Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faulkner/) [Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [My father was a fish market porter. So I grew up on fish, because he used to steal one a day, I grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/my-father-was-a-fish-market-porter-so-i-grew-up-on-fish-because-he/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [“...we sang in church " Tata Nzolo "! Which means Father in Heaven or Father of Fish Bait depending on just how you sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/we-sang-in-church-tata-nzolo-which-means-father-in-heaven-or-father/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Faulkner turned out to be a great teacher. When a student asked a question ineptly, he answered the question with what the student had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/faulkner-turned-out-to-be-a-great-teacher-when-a-student-asked-a/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Faulkner speaks to us on the questions of race, the challenges of modernity, and modern man's dilemma in all of its aspects. 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I learn by going where I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-wake-to-sleep-and-take-my-waking-slow-i-feel-my-fate-in-what-i/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Those who are willing to be vulnerable move among mysteries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/those-who-are-willing-to-be-vulnerable-move-among-mysteries/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [A lively understandable spirit Once entertained you. It will come again. Be still. Wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/a-lively-understandable-spirit-once-entertained-you-it-will-come/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [I came to love, I came into my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-came-to-love-i-came-into-my-own/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [I bleed my bones, their marrow to bestowUpon that God who knows what I would know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-bleed-my-bones-their-marrow-to-bestowupon-that-god-who-knows-what-i/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [All finite things reveal infinitude: The mountain with its singular bright shade Like the blue shine on freshly frozen snow, The after-light upon ice-burdened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/all-finite-things-reveal-infinitude-the-mountain-with-its-singular/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [We think by feeling. What is there to know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/we-think-by-feeling-what-is-there-to-know/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [I can hear, underground, that sucking and sobbing, In my veins, in my bones I feel it,- The small water seeping upward, The tight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-can-hear-underground-that-sucking-and-sobbing-in-my-veins-in-my/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/over-every-mountain-there-is-a-path-although-it-may-not-be-seen-from/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [(I measure time by how a body sways.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-measure-time-by-how-a-body-sways/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [To follow the drops sliding from a lifting oar, Head up, while the rower breathes, and the small boat drifts quietly shoreward...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/to-follow-the-drops-sliding-from-a-lifting-oar-head-up-while-the/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Any fool can take a bad line out of a poem; it takes a real pro to throw out a good line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/any-fool-can-take-a-bad-line-out-of-a-poem-it-takes-a-real-pro-to/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Love begets love. This torment is my joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/love-begets-love-this-torment-is-my-joy/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [“I Knew a Woman" I knew a woman, lovely in her bones, When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them; Ah, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-knew-a-woman-i-knew-a-woman-lovely-in-her-bones-when-small-birds/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [A mind too active is no mind at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/a-mind-too-active-is-no-mind-at-all/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) [Explore all 116 Theodore Roethke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) ## More Father quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [My parents were not musical, and they were not effervescent people; everything was very quiet. The music that I played was loud; it used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/my-parents-were-not-musical-and-they-were-not-effervescent-people/) [Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/) > [“My father called twice and left a voicemail—who does that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-erickson/my-father-called-twice-and-left-a-voicemail-who-does-that/) [Megan Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-erickson/) > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [“I don’t know. We all have to bear things, Ari. All of us. Your father has to bear the war and what it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-we-all-have-to-bear-things-ari-all-of-us-your-father-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This was, I sometimes thought, the last gift my father gave me. And the best: His death stood out as the supreme-o excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-was-i-sometimes-thought-the-last-gift-my-father-gave-me-and-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [My father was very encouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/my-father-was-very-encouraging/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) [Browse all 19,784 Father quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“My father is a fish.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Theodore Roethke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/my-father-is-a-fish/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Father" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/my-father-is-a-fish/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/theodore-roethke-4077_father_my-father-is-a-fish-657784_657784.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/theodore-roethke-4077_father_my-father-is-a-fish-657784_657784.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/theodore-roethke-4077_father_my-father-is-a-fish-657784_657784.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My father is a fish.” — Theodore Roethke", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Theodore Roethke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“My father is a fish.”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/my-father-is-a-fish/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/my-father-is-a-fish/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```