2025 Academy of American Poets Prize

We drove to the sea early, at dawn. It was dense with fog. We found a tautog stranded in a pool on a tall rock. I touched the water because I wanted to know it. I wish I’d swam in. I stared at the fish in awe. You said I wonder if there was a reason. Sometimes all a person needs is a story. It was foaming on the shoreline. I said I wish I was a fish. Later you said I feel beautiful even though the dead run through me. I agreed. On the way home, someone told you about a fertilizer called fish hydrolysate. We considered feeding the mycelial growths in our memories. I cried. You said it was brave, to be moved by feeling.

We drove in early at dawn. The fog was dense. The birds had gotten to an oyster fish, stranded. I leaned my ear toward the rock because I wanted to know it. I wish I’d sang. We stared at the fish in awe. You said, I wonder if there’s a reason. Sometimes what a person needs is another. We learned it has five different names. I could have whispered each one. Later you said I feel beautiful because the dead run through me. The shoreline agreed and told you about fertilizer. It made mycelium grow in our memories. It wasn’t foam, and it made someone cry. You said you love me. You told me, we are underwater and the fish are singing.

We drove to the sea at early dawn. It was dense with fog. We found a blackfish stranded in a pool on a tall rock. I touched the water because I wanted to know it. I wish I’d swam out. It crashed and said if you love me won’t you marry me. Sometimes all a person thinks they need is family. I said I wish I was a fish. On the hook, I couldn’t tell you what I wanted. Later, you said I feel beautiful. I recoiled but I agreed. There was a fertilizer there called fish. We considered fragmenting memories. A stranger planted me in some loam, and I cried. You said it was brave to be changed. There were droplets of mist everywhere.

We drove to the sea early, at dawn. There was fog. A black porgy was stranded and drying out on a tall rock. I felt the water because it was also me. I wish I’d poured myself out. We stared at the waves. You said I wonder if it has awe. Sometimes a story is just a need. I was a wish. It was on your hook that you asked me to be a fisher of men. Later you said I feel beautiful because the dead run with me. I disagreed. The internet told you about a fertilizer called fish hydrolysate. We considered death. A stranger foamed. I cried. You said it was brave to move beyond the surface. There are some waters that incur inevitable decay.

We arrived at the sea with the sun. The fog was burning off. We found a tautauog stranded on high. I took a picture because I wanted to remember it. I wish I’d swam in the water. You said I hope there was a reason. Sometimes there are places it’s not worth being. I said I wish I was free. Later you said I only see beautiful people. I agreed and admitted that the dead run through me. On the way home, language told you how to make fish hydrolysate. We considered what new matter it might feed our memory. I cried. You said it was brave, to want feeling. There are some bodies that it is difficult to believe in.

We left for the sea as the sun came out, early. There had been fog. We saw a dead tautog atop a rock. I touched it because I wanted to honor it. A thread of wish was swimming through me. You stared at us in awe. I said I wonder if it will miss me. Sometimes a person is but a story. You turned and fell as foam on the shoreline. I said I knew I was a fish. Later you said I am beautiful even though and because the dead run through me. I agreed. On the way back, I fertilized my shoreline with hydrolysate. We began tending to the new growths in our bodies. You cried. I said this verdant love is real, substantiating.

We saw the sun on the surface early, at dawn. It was dense with fog. We got stranded in a pool on a tall rock. I knew you in my gills. It was the last time. I stared up at the sky in awe. You whispered to me that there was no reason. Sometimes all a fish needs is a friend. You began by foaming at the shoreline. I said I want to be real. Later, you said I am beautiful because you swim through me. I cried. On our way out, a stranger told you about a fertilizer called fish hydrolysate. We were scared at the idea of feeding our story to the mycelial growths. I gasped. You said it was brave, to give over to feeling.

I got stranded early at dawn. It was dense with fog above us. We were alone, pooling at the top of a rock. I clung to life because I knew it. I wished I could sing. I stared at some people in awe. When they came, you said I knew there was a reason. Sometimes all death wants is a fish. I said I need to stay with you. We agreed that even afterwards I would still be there. I said you are gracious because beauty runs through you. You laughed. The swell said something about hydrolysate and subsumed me. I thought, mycelial. Soon I was loam. Someone said it was brave, to be able to endure being. There was light everywhere.

We left the sea with the sun. It rose above the fog. A wave stranded me on the rocks. I stared at the human because I wanted to know it. I tried to reach out. We were touched by their motion, literally. You said they seem to have a method like reason. Sometimes all a person wants is tautauog. I said I wish I was wet. On the shore it was clear what I needed. Later you said I feel beautiful because the dead run through me. I agreed. A person whispered to me, future fertilizer. I was to feed the mycelial growths in our memories. I cried. You said it can feel awful, to be subject to the force of history.

You were with me, early, at dawn. The fog had burned off. We were in a pool on a tall rock. I called to you because I didn’t want to forget. I wish I had known you are of loam. I stared at a person in fear. We touched each other. You said I wonder where your bones will go. Sometimes the sea portends change as it comes. I said I wish I was among others. Later you said I feel beautiful because you run through me. The shoreline agreed and taught you about fish hydrolysate. It made mycelium grow on our memory. You frothed, and I died. You said it is brave, to be transformed by feeling. I said there are some waters I will always know.