Poor Man's Caviar

Neither my father
Nor Uncle George
Could have imagined
Returning empty-handed
From one of their
Deep-sea fishing trips
Without a yellowtail or two
For us to eat,
But it wasn’t just the fish
We loved.
The eggs of the yellowtail
Were a special treat
Which my father
Fried like sausage.
Not knowing what
They were missing,
Most fisherman
Just threw them away
When they cleaned
The fish.
It has been
Over forty years
Since I last enjoyed
That delicacy,
But I still savor
That taste.