two taxonomies

two taxonomies

upstream flash of sockeye school;

hard-driving toward a natal home.

a vermillion sea: spurred by the fat

of their own cells.

each summoned through this intrinsic cycle:

alevin, fry, parr…

now, in the heavy last light,

a shared ritual of birth:

a steadfast collectivity of red.

from my sofa, what do i know about struggle?

awash with “he’s and she’s,” and “so-and-so’s”;

soaked through with the weight of small news.

taxonomies are more turgid here than in the stream.

filing home,

the tide of workers

kill their ignitions;

standard also in their phases.

soon the night will fill with the noises of their rituals:

bored plates resigned to their beige placemats;

the drone of grey dishwater;

hard-drives and remotes will yawn to life.

the ragged shorelines of fitful sleep…

in the stream, the upstart salmon embraces its work.

probing with its tail: planting its hopeful spawn

in the shoals of the streambed.

waiting near these gravel nests until rest subsumes it.

peter mullins

may 2010

(thanks for the contribution peter!)