The Catch

Blameless, like a rotting fish beneath the deck, she lurks

and leaks into the pool I thought I'd keep her living in.

I caught her and she wasn't big enough to fry,

but pretty,

and came up easy,

so I had to keep her as a souvenir.

I would never dry her out and mount her on a wall,

because she's not ironic or remarkable,

but she came so easy that I had to honor her another way.

 

She swims a shallow circle in the keep,

too bold to compromise, 

or too close to death,

nudging those already dead that bob into her path.

Her dorsal fin cuts smiles that burn into my mind then disappear,

an etch-a-sketch demonic,

behind her, slanting dotted lines in menstrual brown,

a trickle of what makes her her.

 

I'll let her die in there,

of poison from the other ones,

the carcass water and separating s**t she'll gasp for in the end;

who knows,

maybe she'll taste a cousin

or a mother.

She won't live long enough to starve,

but if she could I'd like her to asphyxiate,

skewered on the wheel of blood and sinking,

drowning in herself.

 

She swims and swims and swims and it's like she doesn't understand that she was caught.

She's playful with the dead,

motoring along so patient I might snatch her out and club her,

slow,

so I can check firsthand if her head's that empty.

 

But it would be too quick.

The fish would win.

She has to die in spirit.

 

She thinks I adopted her, and

this is her new family,

she thinks this is a housewarming,

a baby shower,

that all these dead are staging a production of Macbeth and when I yell 'cut!' they'll bulge their lidless eyes and swish their tails and zip into her circle, into a

school of my rejected meals,

my unworthy mounts,

my cast of friends that she can lead into awakening,

a mass exodus beneath the deck I can't un-see,

it's seared into my eyeball,

I can't blink it away,

I'm lidless,

I'm swishing and swimming and following her,

I'm sinking as she leads a charge against me;

I'm watching from above and the noon is buzzing,

I'm baited to her fretted path until I

faint from heat exhaustion or

throw her back.

Reviews

[The Representative]

Very strong, Thaddius. Soul deep.

[Thaddius]

thanks my man! hope you've been well

[The Representative]

I've been mentally up and down, to be frank.

Have any more thoughts regarding The Representative?

[Woody]

Gosh, I had to read it twice! I'm still reeling. layers upon layers.
stunning imagery. this is not something you write in a hurry. excellent poem Thad.

[Thaddius]

Thank you Woody! Appreciate your words, and you are right, I had to go back to this and shave/refine

[Thaddius]

and do I smell a clever wordplay with 'reeling'? That's kind of amazing I'm jealous

[Lenah Mehzabin]

Is it like you were criticising her but she was so blur to even understand and flowing in her own way ?.. i m actually confused about ur poem if it's a women u gave a creative shape as fish ?
But ya i must say ..i m reading it again and again ..really interesting
Good Job! :)

[Thaddius]

yea I definetly don't feel that way towards fish - that would be inhuman!

[Afraa]

I was completely immersed by this. Enjoyed reading every word of it. I loved all the images this poem created in my head. Though I couldn't help but think if you were talking about an actual woman, or a fish. This poem makes it fit for the both of those!

Overall, fantastic job, Thaddius!

[Thaddius]

aw thanks sweetie, very nice of you to say. anything of yours you'd like me to read?

[Thaddius]

just realized I sounded like a creepy santa

[Afraa]

No, I didn't get notified, actually. O_O

Feel free to look through my profile. I can't really tell you which specific ones to read. Haha

[inconsistentsea]

Whoa. This makes me sick to my stomach. Your imagery is very effective. There is such a sense of hopelessness, for both the 'fish' and the narrator. I would enjoy it more if I weren't so upsetting. Good job?

[Thaddius]

thanks! I'm glad you 'would enjoy it more if it weren't so upsetting'. That's exactly how I felt when writing it

[Valkyrie Warrior]

This is a very interesting poem, I can't decide weather she's a human or shark, that is what makes me love it!!!

[Thaddius]

thank you very much - she's a bit of both

[Valkyrie Warrior]

Yeah that's what I thought