SHOALFISH
I swim with others.
Some are dolphins, some are sharks.
Which is which depends on the temperature of the water
or the weather. Something: it’s not clear.
From whale song to hammerhead thrash,
they change their tune at the drop of a mask
over the side, pulled deep by invisible cable
to pressurised obscurity.
Before I know it the warm, blue shallows shelve
into coldness. Gloom wraps me in panic.
I pray. My prayer says:
“Even turtles nip if they think you’re edible.”
Overwhelming, but it’s either that
or swim alone.
—from Rattle #71, Spring 2021
Tribute to Neurodiversity
__________
Robin Knight: “I am very high functioning ASC (and mixed race). I am hyper-vigilant and my brain is like a grandmother’s fridge—things long forgotten by others remain there preserved. I make very rapid connections between things that other people don’t—it’s like wearing winged sandals. Sometimes though I find myself in the thick of the trees unable to see the sun or the stars, wondering WTF. These ways of remembering, perceiving, and feeling are the materials of my writing.” (web)
