Fish Wife

When I was lonely
I cast a net
Not caring what I caught
After all, when you
Are hungry, any fish
That swims your
Way will do.

At times I do not
Even know if
I was fishing
Or drowning in
The tangled nets
At the time
I didn’t much care
I would feast
Or I would die

But then came
The piercing
Something that
Cut through my flesh
My water-logged
Bones, something
That brought tears.

It is one thing to drown
In a body of water
It is quite another to
Salt your own ocean
So I tossed it all
Over the side
Nets, tangles, need.

How fortunate
That just before
I went under for the last
Of all the last times
I caught something
That broke my nets
And set me free.

Dragging my fears
Through the salt
In my wake
I caught you.

-Zoe Richardson