At first just touching the thick, cool glass,
Then pushing through it visually
To the dim, bubbling water inside,
Instantly soothes, smoothes
My questing senses, my nervous self.
Fish dart among the drifting plants,
The corals and the rocks;
Here a golden, scaly skin;
There gray stripes with white,
A parrot beak, a chunky shape.
They circle in relationships
I can only guess:
Food fights, love spats,
Turf wars or other possibilities
In the close-bounded tank.
And I intently watch-
Sometimes by the hour-
Quite mesmerized
By their piscine power
To pull me in and draw me out.
