Bottom Dwelling

by Richard Fenton Sederstrom / January 20th, 2019

The bottom
of this lake
is a house
of gray—

made so
by the flick
of the fish’s
tail

after he chooses
to rise
to the agony
of color

writhing
inches below
the kaleidic
surface.

And the gray
is cold
and constant—
secure

where we
choose to stay
with the memory
of our

bright joys
and never
dare flick
our own tails

to rise above
the pregnant
shroud
of mud

Richard Fenton Sederstrom was raised and lives in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and the North Woods of Minnesota. Sederstrom is the author of eight books of poetry, his latest book, The Dun Book, published by Jackpine Writers' Bloc, was released last fall. Read other articles by Richard Fenton.

This article was posted on Sunday, January 20th, 2019 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.