water always finds a
level. squid will always
rise to a flourescent light
at night. you can hook
them easy then. tangle
their little legs on steel.
at night the fishing boats
untangle themselves
from the dock. press
out into the waiting black.
drop their silver garland lines
and wait. some nights
I am so afraid to sleep.
some nights – a waiting sea.
most days we remind
ourselves of the world.
one day
we don’t wake up.
Much as I love it, I’m not going to ask about the title…
Hah! Thanks Frederick. It’s a poem from a new verse novel project written from the perspective of Hercules’ mortal maternal brother Iphicles.