(me)
swimming vicious circles
in her tank
indefinitely
“I have become comfortably numb"
on my own merry-go-round
"Two lost souls swimming
in a fishbowl"
is one more soul than me
Nothing spells redundancy
more affluently
than swimming fast
in tight circles
I am still the hopeful goldfish
a self-design of honest making
I see you too,
my fellow fish,
another bowl away
I will hold you closer
than cheap love
swimming in the same water
One for a penny.
Two for a dime.
Three stole my sandwich.
Four said, "That's mine!"
Five blamed the goldfish.
Six years he served time.
that is Lieutenant Goldfish he runs Steampunk City
I thought it was a lie, my cousin can be whimsically witty
L.G. as they call him swam by and did not give us a nod.
He’s aloof, disconnected, a loner, quite odd.
Why is he the leader of the city I asked my cousin.
Because the other fish are terrified of him by the dozen.
I thought that was a ridiculous way to vote in a leader today
Then I realized it’s the way of the crazies in the US of A.
I have the memory of a goldfish
At least thats what i say
You tell me to do something
Ill have forgotten by this time next day
You write it down for me
Thinking oh this will help
But i cant remember where i put it on the shelf
Dreams evolved from the tusk of night
into the speckled mist of dawn.
Rye-buttered toast and fresh roast are on.
Window filled with silver sparkle.
Birds chirping from boughs of their emerald church.
It's been a good day... so far.
It's been a good day ...so far.
Heartache is briefly sealed in a mason jar.
No vamps sniffing at the nape of the neck.
No auto wrecks, freak accidents, nor death.
The goldfish is well flaked and blows me a kiss.
It's been a good night... so far. No black phone calls.
No specters in the corner of the eye or bathroom mirror.
Only worn eyes that know the spring as well as the fall.
The silver swells, bloody trails and purple troughs.
Age has no dominion over wisdom or discernment.
I'm rapidly approaching my final home.
There's still so much more to do and to learn.
Only the goldfish knows that precious things are never forged from gold.
"Goldfish"
The left said we weren’t right
we were catscradles
lost and over-stitched in it all
The right said we were goldfish
in an over-crowded drowning bowl
fed on pronouns and dreams of an equal world
poetry skewered our lives
with the beauty of it all
but we were oblivious
to what was really
calling
Candide Diderot. ‘25
I have a cat
(or a cat has me),
a furry cat, a very purry cat
when on my lap it's sat,
independent it is
(egotistical too),
yet demands attention
(self-centred through and through),
and when well-fed, its purr
(a four-stroke motor),
is full of condescension,
when behind its ears you scratch
(it's expected of you),
you may believe you heard,
“Meow, meow, meow,”
(sorry, here's the catch),
what it really said is,
“Me now, me now, ME now!”
And, as goldfish swims in bowl,
cat looks on with danger fraught,
thinking, 'So near yet so far,
that fish is food for thought.'
in a tiny bowl
a goldfish will not grow large
push your boundaries
Hello Goldie,
why are you hiding my sweet girl ?
I am afraid that I am an orange freak,
afraid to whirl and twirl.
Oh Goldie you are beautiful and so unique,
so, swim and swirl with celestial mystique !
Yes, though a baby goldfish,
in this aquariam I am going to gleefully swish !
Come see my nails the excited young woman said
I went though I had a wet towel on my head
We were in the beauty shop, with faces red
Baby fish were in her nails. How could they be fed?
I was so horrified, I wanted to leave right away
But I had waited thirty minutes, so I decided to stay
Others ran over to look and said things merry and gay
I could not wait to leave; I finally ran out straight away
‘ How are you going on ? Hi, Goldfish !
You are so shiny fins seem polished:
Sparkling , glistening !
Are you listening ?’
‘Yes ! I am hearing, but no energy to reply .
You are providing ample food on supply.
But I’m confined in aquarium
Limited space no freedom !
Now I can’t swim free at random.
Feeling frolic seldom !
Sensing continuous boredom.
You are cruel, heartless,
enjoying my beauty, peerless.
I am imprisoned by you,
spending days in rue.
, A cheerful goldfish you have captured,
destroying my joy and rapture.
My sorrowful swimming you relish !
Always grief I’m to cherish,
Me the poor Goldfish.
I can’t sue,
but hate you.’
We were once bejeweled dolphins frolicking.
Within the starry glitter of a spiritual sea.
Our freedoms were gilded and fathomless.
Then eyeless ogres of mayhem and madness
Steadily parched our peace and happiness.
Tempered our smiles, muffled our clicks...
Until there was nothing but blackness left.
They've molded us into skittish goldfish.
Trapped us in their rose-stemmed glasses.
Feeding us a few rancid flakes at a time.
Dictating that we should be forever grateful.
To be in the shadow of their pseudo shine.
Riding their plastic sextants and jagged kindness.
Thinking we need them to center our lives.
Dunking these vote-centric peckers is paramount.
Now kick back, smoke a blunt, watch the blue buzzards drown.
I'm slowly evaporating from this verbal tennis match
For some reason we continue to give breath to these vapor windy circles
Brewing a coffee tornado that is going to spill all over my shirt
And they say don't cry over spilled milk, but there's a river of rain I've been holding back
And I'll be damned if I let this game end at 40 love
But is victory really as sweet when blood sheds from pain and not perseverance
I'll keep painstakingly swimming even when the water is above my head
Because when you take that 1 second to notice everything around you
The dirty food tables are eventually going to be clean
The question isn't who is going to do the dishes
But when will we stop acting like goldfish fighting in my dishwasher
And look outside the glass to see a whole world needing just one person to keep swimming
p.s. you don’t have to tread water when you can float with your reflection...
Goldfish were in a decorating contest this week
They painted their scales in patterns that peek
Outdoing each other in swirls, lines, shapes and dots.
I saw them as far away as twelve hundred knots.
The goldfish follows me
As I cross the room
Bubbles aerate his coral
His eyes darken
His movements deliberate
I fear he dreams
of being a shark
And of me
falling into his bowl.
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