My Goldfish Wears a Rolex by Dana Kinsey

She flexes

her body

fans her tail

mechanically

ambivalent

about neon pink

pebbles

mermaids

decomposing

driftwood.

Does she forget

in 3 seconds

like people say?

Wish she could

recall my eyes

only saw you

once, beautiful man.

I cast

you out

repeatedly

taking note

of times

her swimming

ceased

to remember you

pleading

from vacant

midnight

to blurry mourning

Her strokes

stayed even

even when you

slammed

the last door.

Her swishing fins

nothing more than

rhythmic begging

I would change

the water

from cold

to content.

My experiment

simulated life

in her bowl

of cloudy longing

on replay like

50 Last Dates.

So I’ll take

Goldie

jewelry shopping

tomorrow

so she never

forgets another

second

of regret.

---

Dana Kinsey is a writer, actor, and teacher published in Writers Resist, One Art, Broadkill Review, Fledgling Rag, Silver Needle Press, Porcupine Literary, Sledgehammer Lit, West Trestle Review, Prose Online, and Teaching Theatre. Dana's play, WaterRise, was produced at the Gene Frankel Theatre. Visit wordsbyDK.com or tweet @wordsbyDK.