Whose Pink career may have a close — Salmon

Pink has the definition of a young salmon or a smart person. This poem describes the salmon returning from the sea meet the pink, a metaphor of the experienced who withdraw from the society meeting the innocent halfway.

Whose Pink career may have a close
Portentous as our own, who knows?
To imitate these Neighbors fleet
In awe and innocence, were meet.

(F.1427/J.1394)

[1] Pink:: a young salmon before it becomes a smolt _{(OED n.2 2a)}; named for its pink spots on the side.
[2] Portentous:: ill-fated, the death of salmon after eggs laid. our own:: the salmon's own fate after the return from sea.
[3] imitate, Neighbors fleet:: a fleet of salmon returning to their birthplace, imitated by the young salmon. fleet:: evanescent, shifting, passing away; not durable or lasting _{(OED a.1 2)}.
[4] Awe and innocence:: the adult salmon's awe for about to die, and the young salmon's innocence for not known their fate. meet:: they meet in the halfway assumed by the author.

The usual manner of designating the different stages of growth and changes in the condition of the Salmon is thus:－As long as it bears the red spots and finger-marks, it is known as "Pink," "Salmon-fry," "Samlet," and is sometimes yet called "Parr." When it puts on the bright coat preparatory to going to sea for the first time, it is called a "Smolt." After its return, it is a "Grilse." After its second migration, it is a "Salmon," and is ever after so called. ─ The American Angler's Book (1864)