there’s more than just fish in this live-well
clinging to the side of the hull
making wild mussel-love in the bilge
dressed in zebra stripes, faded ones,
not gold and black bands in metallic polish
– cousin Quagga – big stone, loud stone,
can-I-pet-the-rabbits stone
dumb luck to go unnoticed until the drain chokes
you don’t behave like an extinct zebra
wild mussel-love in the bilge
tanked in the lower outboard
waiting to be dunked again
little pennies stacked sideways
but they never fall over
grid overlaid concentric stripes
Greek soldiers with shields overhead
someday the penny will be obsolete
it’s that briny feeling between morning and delirious sleep
where the bed and the body are mostly submerged
held down with unwanted ballast
everything underwater deserves an extra exoskeleton
five days’ reserves
stuck to the side of the hull
waiting for more than just fish
four of seven
unimatrix Dreissena
species 4527
morphological clan
mollusc
D. polymorpha
D. caspia caspia
D. stancorici
D. bugensis
origin
Dneiper River
Ukraine
Eastern Europe
Planet Earth
tanked in the lower outboard
making wild mussel-love
five days in the bilge
loud stone, transparent stone
increase the drag a bit stone
– I’m moving too fast anyway –
who cares if I start venting fuel
clinging to the side of the hull
there’s more than just fish in this live-well
waiting to be dunked again
prime real estate
track housing
chains of shells
slash and burn stone
whole cities
white paper kites
