Man-Fish

He slid easily through water
as if through silk sheets
I was a fish in my past life he said
We who had watched him
finger sea-anemone tentacles
as lovingly as a woman's hair
stopped smiling at the remark
He'd had a hard time on land
failed twice at marriage
gambled away his yacht
No one can hassle you underwater he said
and went for his deepest dive
Hours later, they found him
suspended fetal-like amid a coral-forest
When they laid him out on deck
and the crowd gathered round
his lips made feeble
goldfish movements
gasping softly for air

Shampa Sinha