Pond life
Take this pond, for example.
Goldfish blow ellipses…
you pause, breathe.
The pond counts the beats:
in for four, hold for seven.
Lily pads float like Pac-men
in a plant-based alternative
to the game you wasted
hours on as a kid. The pond
stares up with its one good
eye, everything else just
sits there growing: lotuses
flamboyant as flamingos,
waterweed, exotic greens.
You notice your face
among the lilies; confused
moon, bubble-wrapped in spawn,
an underwater cosmic twin —
only one life left between you,
and the ghosts are closing in.
Corinna Board teaches English as an additional language in Oxford. She grew up on a farm and her work is often inspired by nature and the rural environment. She has been published in Spelt, Anthropocene, The Alchemy Spoon and elsewhere.
Socials:
Twitter @corinnaboard
Instagram: @parole_de_reveuse