vacancies

all the fish bowls are empty 
on the counter. they ring like clocks.
the last fish visited in the depths of the night.
might have come in through the window
but i'm not sure. goldfish are selfish.
they come & go without warning.
they take their names with them.
somedays my name peels off & goes elsewhere
while i stand here keeping watch over 
my fish bowls. i am waiting for 
an aquarium to visit me in a silk tie
to offer my sustainable employment.
air has currents just like water. air is water
in some senses of the word. fish don't 
breathe water they breathe air through water.
i think about the prickled curtains of gills.
i walked through a gill once 
& got scrapes all over my body. do fish
have blood? i have no evidence.
i could fill the fish bowls 
with all the blood that's escaped me.
i wrap myself in tin foil 
in an attempt to look like a gold fish.
dialing random numbers
i pretend to be a robo caller selling
goldfish. everyone hangs up instantly.
everyone is too smart these days.
i want to be tricked more often 
than not. sell my something warm.
all my windows are open. a thunder storm 
is shimming in the distance & soon
it will be all red outside 
even the moon. i see silhouettes of goldfish
pass across the whites of my eyes 
& then across the moon. everything white
means the same thing. eye. bread. 
wall. fresh teeth. moon. when they finally arrive
i will make them play black jack with me. i have
a deck of cards waiting. the cards vibrate
with luck. i am going to win
so much money. my mouth tastes metallic 
as a penny. fish taste like pennies because
they are full of them. they swallow any change
they can find off the street. i put 
a cigar in my mouth & don't lite it.
water pours from the tip like smoke.
what can be done about lurking? not much 
i assume. you can only wait
& listen. i trace the rims of the fish bowls
to teach them how to hum.