Before the watery wall I stand,
a pane of glass between me and
flashy schools of myriad fish like sins parading
when a hammerhead impales my gaze.
I remember that one, the one
I should go to the gallows for,
before it pivots from the glass, as if
content to bide its time till the apocalypse.
Say, for an instant the earth quakes, the
glass cracks and another deluge follows,
the shark like avenging justice would seek
me out, for all my sins, for each mortal sin,
each like piranhas eating at my soul and
one long shark bite to crown the whole,
an entrée in the overtaking flood.
Would I call to that fool Noah to let me in
to his ark of gopherwood which we laughed
to see him build, four by fours, and two by twos,
the men and women kneeling to pray, now before
a Lamb slain, innocent blood, the promised Son?
The light dims around me, and for a moment,
the watery screen is empty, a gray shield,
a blank page to write my own fate sans God,
sans judgment, sans arks and crosses.
Maybe the fish were being fed on the other
side, a reprieve for me, “for my sins,” I laugh
and turn, when the hammerhead shoots out
of the murky depths and steals my bubbly grin away.
Linked to Thursday's Six Sentence Story, "bubble"; join us by clicking here:
Dreams from a Pilgrimage 
A very evocative write Dora. You’ve given us so many emotions to experience
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Sadje, 🙏♥️
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💗💗💗
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I hate when this happens. Just knockin’ around the zoo when a sharknado breaks out. Hey look, Jaws, try some of this disgusting dry kibble I bought from a vending machine, it’s much better than my head I assure you.
The “bubbly grin” is genius. I know you’re saying more here, Dora, but I’m going to tread lightly around that. And hey, you Dared To Post Unprompted! Sister! 🙂
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Hate it when you give me an accolade and I have to decline: alas, I will be linking this to Six Sentence Prompt when it goes live later today! Hey, but Sharknado movies: classix 😉
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hey, you’re my poetry sistah anyway. 🙂
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🙂
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The hammerhead did that? Rude! Get your grin back please. Please be well. Blessing you.
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The speaker’s mockery may have come back to “bite” him. Blessings to you as well, Selma. Thanks for reading.
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Wow this takes me to childhood fears that aquarium’s glass would break and the shark would come out to me! Vivid and love how you tied this to Noah’s flood
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I remember glass-bottom boats in Florida as a kid and being afraid to move in case the bottom cracked! Thank you for your comments, Jimmy.
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Whoah that’s a new one: glass bottom boats???
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Silver Springs, Fl. It was a great attraction and still active I believe!
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There is always a prize to pay for mocking the men with a vessel… maybe these days we are all destined to feed the fish.
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Indeed, never mock the Ark! You’re right, one way or another, everyone’s seems keyed into the fact that a reckoning is coming.
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If i dare to say, “quite deep” will i be banished for being punny? This is an excellent read.
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Not at all, you would be inundated with smiles! Thank you, Mimi. 🙂
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I remember not so long ago standing in front of a massive aquarium in a Dubai shopping mall, marvelling at all the fish when a diver swam past towing behind him an advertisement for Visa credit cards!
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Lol. VISA did itself no credit there!
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Nicely ominous lines: “a blank page to write my own fate sans God,
sans judgment, sans arks and crosses.” Also nice description of the fish like parading sins.
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Thank you, Frank. Conscience when it forces itself into our thoughts is a grace of God which we dismiss or mock at our peril.
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Really enjoyed these lines: “before it pivots from the glass, as if
content to bide its time till the apocalypse”
Great poem, Dora
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So glad you enjoyed it, Nicole! Thank you.
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Ah, but you must remember, the glass is your grace separating you from your sins. There is no hope in fear only in Grace which stands!
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Wonderful metaphors with theological and apocalyptic meanings.
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