Transparency

She saw through him,
the last glass eel of summer,
tinkling and shattering
up the river
with a shiver
like a lost star
in an alien galaxy,
a long way from the Sargasso Sea.
She felt sick
as she let the slick
predator slip
through her fingers
in whirlpools of emotion
and he abandoned her ocean.

Kim M. Russell, 2017

Image result for painting of a glass eel
Image found on Pinterest

Linked to dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night, where Gayle is hosting.

45 thoughts on “Transparency”

    2. They’re kind of prehistoric, I think. I find it fascinating that they travel all that way to spawn and then all the way back again. But the glass eels are pretty.

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      1. I prefer eels in their natural habitat when they are alive and doing what they do naturally. My father used to catch eels, kill them, smoke them in a kiln and then eat them. It was this whole ritual I found so dusturbing as a child and I was made to eat eel under duress. I should have explained I am not a fan of eel as food, I have no issues with them as living creatures! 😉💜 xxx

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      3. I was listening to Radio 4 on my way to the library earlier this week. A man was talking about eel pie and mash shops in the East End and my stomach churned. 🙂

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  7. You pack so much in your short poems–internal rhymes, symbols, line breaks. I like the lines /like a lost star/in an alien galaxy/. I feel like that some days.

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  9. I love your poem. It’s fantastic. But I’m very distracted by what I perceive to be a gummy snake rather than a glass eel. I think he wants me to eat him. 🙂

    The Sargasso Sea line is my favorite. In the title, I see Trans-Parency, which makes me think this is about parents who are transgender. Or it’s a Danish Girl situation.

    Then I also see a layer where the speaker is a mother trying to protect her daughter (her ocean) from a predator.

    I like the pool/ocean play at the end.

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    1. Thank you, Shawna! Glass eels are young and I suppose they might be gummy. It’s the older eels I wouldn’t want to meet – they have a bit of a bite to them! I love your interpretations.

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