BUTTERFLY BALLOON

by Alyse Bensel

 

 

Opaline or starburst or emerald green—
descriptors for barbus or brochis or
gynmocorymbus. The bubble pump flares
sidefins and whiskers. Aquarium fish
appear as mechanical wind-up toys.
They troll the bottom of pop-rock gravel.
A floundering Butterfly Balloon Molly
performs a sideshow for the children
who muddy the clarity with their fingers
or cause underwater earthquakes with a tap
on the glass. Last night the catfish’s white
whiskers, illuminated fluorescent,
looked like the white of hot flames, licking
the sides of the tank, making water boil.

 

 

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