Of all the fish I’ve met at sea,
you are the one who most helped me
to be, see beauty reflected,
swim sure in the faith there would be
oceans of opportunity
beyond my murky water days.

Still reeling from your cruelty
and light-deprived, I’ve fished around,
found solace sweet in quiet sound
of truth echoed in solitude:
you are no more the fish I knew,
and one day you will know this, too.

Whatever fish tale you believed,
I never tried to reel you in.
I only wanted just to swim
in your school, in a clearer stream.
Off the hook, you did not care. You
delivered me to hungry sharks.

In darkness, they devoured hope
whole as you hid, watched from your cave,
made no effort at all to save
bite-sized morsel of shared story.
You turned, swam back to your safety
in the net, proclaimed yourself free.