Blue-Back Special


A seagull clawed the rippled menu, and
decided on the blue-back shad;
a delicious delight of silvery scales,
terrified eyes, and a last gulp of air.

60

Echoes in the ashes,

flutter from my ears and nose.

Memories, gasping for crystal air,

flee the grasp of a stumbling tongue.

Niggling ghosts of nothing,

naked in a fading sun.