The Kissing Fish

author’s note:

“I’m gonna do what I gotta do to get the union back!”
               -- from the movie Hoffa


THE KISSING FISH

As they do
nearly every evening at this time
the kissing fish
arc out of the lake.
One coming from the north.
One coming from the south.

The two trout
meet in mid-air
and for one still moment
their mouths adhere

and all the people who’ve gathered
around the pond to witness
this twilight summer ceremony
hold their breath
as they experience
the wondrous union
as a union of their own, within.

But impermanence is the cost
of living on this planet--
in the next moment
the rainbow arc made
by the two trout
breaks

with a collective sigh
from the crowd
as the spent bodies
flop helplessly down
and land on the water,
creating two rings of spray

then disappear under
the orange autumn leaves
rolling with the waves.

Some couples
now drift into the woods,
hand in hand.

But the truth is:
everyone here has become
a lover again
by opening to
the glorious perfection
of this gentle event.

Soultime: a novel
© 2021, Michael R. Patton