The Wreck in the Grasse
by Peter Eckhardt
There is a big, dead fish in the river, and I look at it.
I see,
laying there in the mud,
a big, red, lumpy corpse.
Of course, the fish can't see me.
Its eyes are covered in dirt.
Also,
the fish is still dead.
The fish is probably the biggest fish
I have ever seen in nature.
I've definitely seen bigger ones in aquariums.
I don't have good enough woodcraft to know what kind, though.
The sunlight makes it glint,
like treasure in the water.
It is salmon (though probably not a salmon),
with strong, powerful fins.
Closer inspection reveals the sloughing off of scales.
Smaller fish nibble
at the hulk. Its mouth yawns
open and water strains through.
The fish seems a little big for the river.
I walk
away from the banks
and through the flowers and grasses.