The Body In The Canal

They pulled a body

from the water, or at least

they thought it was a body;

When they got it to shore

they realized it was a mannequin

shaped to look like a body

lost in the canal for a year

after a training exercise

now mud covered and

drawn through the muck;

And I wonder what it went through

that simulated body

a year in the water

fish chewing at its rubber toes

water bugs nesting

in the hollow where its glass

eyes stare into the weeds

it was never a man

but it was built to look

just like one

weighted the same, one hundred

and forty pounds

of fake meat

that in a year

never rotted or broke

while the turtles nibbled at it

and it scraped its fingers

along the concrete walls

that bound it;

I’ll bet they were happy

the firemen

to find their ersatz boy again

they like to think he’s

almost human, they practice

with him

but if you or I were to go into

that cold weedy water

for a year,

I tell you what

we wouldn’t come out the same.

Reviews

[R.E. Ray]

I find it ironic that a mortal can design and manufacture something to outlast him. In conditions that would kill a man or woman, we find something enduring and brilliant in our own engineered work. Maybe that’s what the firemen celebrate, kinda like the Tom Hanks character in that movie, Castaway, and his love for that ball, Wilson.

I must admit I much prefer the ending to what was implied in the title. A darn good write, JR.

[JR]

Thanks. It was a story off a local news website, and it got me thinking...

[R.E. Ray]

We can find some good lessons in true stories. They also make good writing prompts, as you’ve shown.