I was a novice angler.
A junkie, nodding out,
Whispered, come a little
Closer—I’m going to
Let you in on a secret.
She pulled out her
Fillet knife & stabbed
Me just below my ribs
& started to laugh. As
I strained for oxygen,
The opposite I imagined
Of a fish flopping on
The dock, I flashed to
Eels darting & accumulating
In my newly decaying body.
She giggled that the knife
Was only rubber, which
Reminded me of random
Reinforcement, how you
Never know; that’s
The thing about fishing.
 
 
Photo by Adeel Anwer

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