1 poem

by gaia rajan

Phillips Academy

Elegy for Goldfish

The children make midnight detours
from the bathroom, gazing
into the moonlit aquarium,

willing the goldfish to move,
just move, sprawling
on the carpet and whispering

to the fish. She’d once been a dynamo,
moving so fast she was a glimpse
of gold, nearly invisible.

Now, she swoons at the top,
tossed around by currents,
motionless. Her scales

are muted silver. Her eyes blink,
empty. The children can’t comprehend
this way their world seems to tear

from its foundation, set adrift
as the goldfish’s face fades.
They fall asleep hours later,

still turned toward the fish.
The water glows eerily
as the sun rises that morning.

Tears in their eyes, they dig the shallows
of a grave. They say goodbye
to the glass bowl, her pretty scales,

the bags of multicolored food.
Then they trudge back inside,
still unsteady,

only rough seas in sight.