Life Is Full of Sweet Spots

It was a day when the sea

lay still, merging its salty

wetness with the waiting

edge of the sky and the clouds

were filled with fish,

so thick that I saw them—

in full color, I might note—

darting and turning through

bursts of beta waves before

losing their way in the deep.

There were bluefish. I forget

how many now, but I counted

them then, razor teeth scoring

orbiting rings of glass minnows

and shiners, astral bodies

thin as light, flashy as a diamond

jig. Next the needlefish, sturgeon,

marlin and sharks, nosing along

through the depths. There were more:

blowfish with swelled bellies

and squared shape, dogfish,

schooling alewife, skates and rays,

bass, even a pair of seahorse.

Last was the prettiest angelfish,

painted in blue and gold,

nudging me along, back

to everyday ground.

* * *

Poem and photo by Mary O’Connor © 2014