Contented Circles
Jan 14 2011


A goldfish
in a small glass bowl
circles, nibbles, hovers.
Tiny bubbles
like a broken string of beads
ride up
from the steadily humming aerator,
niftily hidden
in a sunken ship.

An ornamental fish
flashing bronze and copper,
who only exists
for my occasional amusement.
Does he wonder
at the vast world outside the glass?
Does he miss
the company of other
beautiful fish?
Does the blue plastic mermaid
reclining on gravel
make him wish
for more?

Once a week
I dutifully change the water
drop in flakes of food,
not a lot.
Bend down
and look into a hard black eye
that stares inscrutably back,
out from the side of his head
unblinking.
A panopticon creature
ensconced in glass.

And when he dies
I will promptly buy another decorative fish
no different than him,
who will also swim in contented circles
in a safe aquatic world.
Where he will appear
for all it’s worth
immortal.