Stakes For Sea Creatures Replaced By Something New
Shake off the escort who pulls you away
returning from the pool on a maybe
Saturday. Locked bedroom makes of days
already a blur until shark suspended, you see,
in canvas transferred, from a hallway tank
hatch, held aloft for a magician’s strait-
jacket dance. Laddered zippering men flank
this fish, who has no chance now to escape.
To fate he’s lowered, coffin-sized box — next to
others departing; nobody talks — stakes
for sea creatures replaced by something new.
Mistake believing it won’t happen to you —
another gilled creature men will subdue.
Kristin Garth is a Pushcart, Best of the Net & Rhysling nominated sonnet stalker. Her sonnets have stalked journals like Glass, Yes, Five:2:One, Luna Luna and more. She is the author of seventeen books of poetry including Pink Plastic House (Maverick Duck Press), Crow Carriage (The Hedgehog Poetry Press), Flutter: Southern Gothic Fever Dream (TwistiT Press), The Meadow (APEP Publications) and Golden Ticket from Roaring Junior Press. She is the founder of Pink Plastic House a tiny journal and co-founder of Performance Anxiety, an online poetry reading series. Follow her on Twitter: (@lolaandjolie) and her website kristingarth.com
