Another sleepless night spent under
Helicopter stutter of ceiling fans
Cicadas rasping, geckos clucking
Frogs fucking and barking at the dark
Bush turkeys hollering like hooligans
His wife lies silent beside him
Wet hair a seaweed mass on the pillow
Her breathing shallow, stopping to swallow
Eyes staring at the ceiling, unmoving
Stunned after being pulled from the pool
again
In a dream he saw her drop
From Nightcliff Jetty like a stone
Her white dress a billowing jellyfish
Keen local anglers casting after her
Their hooks catching arms, breasts,
abdomen
This was how he had landed her
Thrashing on the line, his biceps bursting
Until she lay gasping on the deck
He hacked off her tail, threw it to the
gulls
And took a proud photo for Channel Ten
A tap dripping downstairs
Keeps unsteady time with the clock
Like a married couple walking hand in hand
He knew feet would grow to replace the
tail
Her return to water was just a question of
when
© shaun patrick green 2015
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