a patois of kelp and cold water homing clicks
within the pod directing common purpose, swim bladders evolved
from Jurassic kin
in gyroscopic masteries of undertow and fathom
the stink of herring
on their breath the pack-hunter focus on blood
in the tide
lithe in bronze in Copenhagen harbour an avatar
of Hans Andersen’s existential angst
no one speaks of the empty stare, the salty
arousal of flesh against fin where eddies coil, here
in the marshes the lap of waves
among the reeds, genes
junked
in slippery postures
an anxiety of appetites, human, more or less
gives way, a good time
as good as any
Estill Pollock
Estill Pollock's publications include Constructing the Human (Poetry Salzburg) and the book cycle Relic Environments Trilogy (Cinnamon Press, Wales). His poetry collections in the series Cartographic Projections of a Sphere are published by Broadstone Books. The e-chapbooks And Then and Working Title are published by Mudlark.
Header image by James Lee
