To a Fish

To a Fish

Lithe, armless, legless, neckless:
Streamlined, sequined
Beauty in dream-like motion.
Dancer with fans and veils.
Your world is not my world.
Yet it is the same:
I pour poison down the drain,
You die.
Like living jewels, I keep you
In globes of glass,
Little thinking you are
Shards of the same god
As I.

Betsy McKenzie
Jan. 8, 2006