The man holds a fish
and this small boy
swims on a floor
in a sea of purulence.
The man does not
see or hear the fish
speaking; he cannot feel
how it flapped and gasped.
The boy can only hear
his breathing as it
struggles in the cold
and hard waves lapping
like a pummelling, like
a punishment.
The fish is empty inside
and this boy survives.
The man still holds his
dead fish, but doesn’t
look it in the eye. He did
not understand anything.