Richard Fein
Fish


Fish in the air,
seemingly
over, under,
at times eclipsing, at times passing through--
human heads.
A roomful of busy jaws
at Ling's South China Sea restaurant,
one humongous tank lit by a long neon,
and behind it is one huge room lit by many neons.
Fish food floats pell-mell and is gobbled,
while beyond diners hunch over their plates.
A vista filled with unsated appetites.
Some fish engulf human faces,
an illusion created by
two worlds aligned before the eye,
a question of proper perspective.
Four hundred million years of competing hungers
evolved into this clear vision
here at Ling's, which is so distant
from the South China Sea.
But I didn't come here for a proper perspective,
or to see the unrefracted light pass through two worlds,
one now, one long ago, and the distance of time between.
No, I came here for the specialty of the house
which is, of course,  . . . 
 
Copyright © 1999 Richard Fein All Rights Reserved 


Also by Richard Fein:

 Driving Through Queens

 Travel Advisory

 Hard Truths