Queer Fish
I could swim
in madcap lanes
where germs
invisible with bleach
still get-up my nose,
or crawl in the human race
or butterfly my way.
But lifeguards
do not sit in sea
and jump out for me
when they see me
drowning
on the land. And so --
deep water doesn't tempt,
I gull red herrings
from the shoals
& treasure-hunt the beach.
geoff stevens
