Flat Fish

Flat Fish

As I peer up at his boat, Caliban,

through the warming late spring waters of this

New Jersey back bay, I see his lucent

line descend. His chartreuse jig bumps along

bottom mussel beds as he persuades me

to lunch with him. The immortal current

slows as high tide approaches. He thinks I swim

in unfamiliar waters, but not so:

I have slipped along these bottom sands

through its cuts and channels for centuries,

surviving Nor’easters, water spouts,

predators — and Shakespearean tempests.

4 thoughts on “Flat Fish

  1. I absolutely love this, the words are sculpted neatly and flows like butter. (But don’t try putting butter on a sculpture, that’s kind of vandalism.) I have an old poem where I had a character who had a dog named Caliban, so this made me reminesce. I don’t see anything that really needs to be tightened, and this might be my favorite poem of the day so far! Thanks for sharing!

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