small fish

read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it read it

The witless bird
Comes to collect
Small fish, he turns
And bends his neck.

I sit and watch
This painful sight.
I tried to save
These fish last night.

I picked them up
Each one by one
And threw them back
Until the sun

Called back the birds,
Tide’s mordant slaves.
They killed the fish
I couldn’t save.