bleached and silver on the turquoise
rocks she begins to stick pearls
into the dark openings
begins to describe how a body
without a soul is first a monster
then a wind without ribs
then just a body
and the other parts are flying
without the bones or face
just the light in the air
and she can hear
gills near her ear
the fish says good things
and mean things
he was scared
because he couldn’t see
and kept spitting out his food
even after the medicine
we gave him for weeks
he knew we tried to save him
but he was scared
and then he couldn’t breathe
and fell upside down
mouth gulping
until his body stopped
and a young silver fish
flipped his tail through the glass
now seeing all the bright
water
