Brief Encounter (I)

Tiny
and arched
was the bridge,
of gleaming green
wood, between leaves
of palm-trees, lush, polished,
larger than a new-born child.
Through the muddy water
underneath, something
slid by, slid through:
a blood-red
carp. I was
startled,
I was struck.
A fish like a flame.

Christina Egan ©2024

Photograph: Christina Egan ©2013