Beetlebung and Kettlehole--April Poems

Ostracoderm*

First fish, tiny with soft spine,
thin scales, no jaws
cheeks rising to pleasure
in limitless ocean, a rippling fragment
of heaven’s light
while every wave of the sea
erases the sky’s memory.


First friend, a mate
with no name like the light
from dream to vigil
communication in silence,
rivers of joy flow within
then the blazing touch
in the center of the night.


First land, one little hell of hope
thirsty for invisible mountains
can it climb, on a slow trek
from gullibility to clout?
Zeal erupts for new promises
it muscles up, sharpens,
to adapt to a vicious world to come.


*ostracoderm—first fish of 530 million years ago

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Prompt: a specific kind of fish