Stars not dampened by sunrise float with crocodiles
littering the lake’s surface
mouths wide a yawn holding future
stories nearly touching the sky
Blacks and purples of galaxies waiting
for gray blue of morning I sit on edge
of the boat tossing my bobber
towards the back of their throats missing
each attempt you stop me grab the line
say you’ll scare off the fish beneath them
Unsteady hands no longer paint boats
my name
you sometimes confuse with
one of my four sisters
you’d thread the bobber
teach us when to pull and reel a fish
I was in art school you’d watch me paint
green in the eyes of a portrait
The sun came up and they closed
their hope filled mouths Silence
and eyes meeting nats that like my nose
My bobber has drifted into a patch
of sun a piece of the lake transparent
Down there the fish glitter scales of silver
when caught by the sun color finds them
then they’re gone They are not fools
Doctors took pieces your hands
Small amounts skin gone
to testing You’d lift the wraps show me
exact amounts skin cancer erodes We’d all sit swaying
left right
steady you’d stand preaching
importance of sunscreen Pink skin red
last thing you want on us
blazing heat a Texas summer day
Midday the crocodiles have gone
down cool corners of the lake
under the shadow of our small boat
I want to dip my feet moment of safety between
the fish and me
Bright white hits the iris idle lake with no clouds
Birds take sudden flight
at the crack of your Dr. Pepper can casting
red between two small trees a heart
Your boat covered in the shed
housing a litter of cats You were furious
I told you my inspection
dust one melted rubber worm
grass should be mowed
violent shake your hands
cascade
perspiration on your water glass
damp dark green on your armrest
spots on your hands linger
Beating the edge of the boat a stick
only thing I’ve been able to catch
Reached my hand right in the cool water
purple found its way back to the sky
The sun more forgiving and you
place one fish in the cooler
Crocodile eyes ride the surface glance
our direction Ripples from blood drops
fog the surface Smokey fade
black depths their world beneath us
Em Fullenwider is a queer poet from Texas who is a current MFA Poetry Candidate at Texas State University. She/They received their BA in Creative Writing from the same university and they are the current art editor for Porter House Review and a poetry reader for Abode Press.