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2020-03-24T18:16:31-07:00August 18th, 2016|Musings on life|

Little shiner

I can’t stop
thinking about him

the shiner they caught
hook in his eye
he thrashed about
then lay still

trying
to breathe
waiting
for worse

would he wish later
that he had put up a fight

we couldn’t get the hook out
the boy told me

and so the little shiner
is now part
of my story

a fish the size
of a slug
an autumn leaf
my baby’s soft foot

does it still hurt
or is it just a constant glint
like a star
lurking

did the other shiners
comfort him
when he dropped
back into his corner
of the sea

or did they
look away
the way we all do
sometimes

worried
just maybe
the suffering
is catching.

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