Fish Opera

The life of a fish ends in bad luck.

                                    A hook in the mouth is a break with the ocean.

                                    Spectator birds screech with excitement.

                                    Scales cling like jewels on the fisherman’s fingers.

                                    Feather gills lock tight when the belly is slit.

                                    Salt water and guts spill splash on the table.

                                    The silver fish body lies alone on the table.

                                    Red jelly eggs are a sign of good luck.

                                    He cuts flesh into steaks with a knife through the slit.

                                    Bedazzled fish body, no more, one with the ocean.

                                    The song that he hums matches the ballet of fingers

                                    —thinking of dinner, tonight, with excitement.

                                    His girl in the trailer will cook with excitement.

                                    She’ll spread nutty spice in the middle of their table.

                                    then gather fish-flesh in flour with her fingers.

                                    The trailer is makeshift  from last year’s bad luck.

                                    The window is covered so she can’t see the ocean,

                                    except for a corner where the light makes a slit.

BIO

Annie Fahy is a clinician in bio-behavioral health who integrates creative practice into healing and resilience-building work with individuals and teams. Trained by Pat Schneider in 1998 in the Amherst Writers & Artists method, she continues to use writing as a tool for reflection, transformation, and embodied change.