Excerpt
Cleaning Fish



Take a fish any fish
Let’s say a black bass

Or iridescent rainbow
Trout after it has

Stopped flopping
In the sink

Its dull eye fixed
On an isolated splash

Before it slips down
Into darker water

Slimy silver moons
Weigh in, light-heavy

Take what remains of slippery
And hold it still

Under the blade while some
Scales flip into the drink

And others fly free
As if to attach again

Why not hold a side to start
And pinpoint where guts reside

Then plant the knife tip for a slit
As a slant hand slips a bit

The one eye squeeze
And shut will sharpen

A drain of senses
And ooze of essence as

The next step
Is not so clean