Fish Pond

Fish Pond

You slowly submerge

The plastic bag

Into the pond

As confused goldfish swarm one side

And later join their terminal associates

Like translucent gladiators going off to war.

Spending most of the day

Under a large, flat slate,

They emerge

To eat the floating, green strands

And nibble the felt blanket

That clings to the rock bed.

Each day, another one leaves;

Some float away from their comrades,

Some find themselves

In the belly of a raccoon,

While others stay to solve the mystery

Of the deadly pond

Only to become a deeper part of it.

After the last sacrifice,

The soothing sound of water,

The sunlight on the upper falls,

The tentacles of lily blossoms,

And the occasional bird bathing

Against the backdrop

Of Hogback Mountain

Form a soulful symphony

At this watery tomb.