CL Forest
My chest is a home to many fish, salmon and some invasive species
I am not sure how the fish got here, as long as I have been swimming
I have known them, it must have been the fish who braved my mother’s
Womb between my father’s punch, my aquatic swimmers
My fish who create a home in school, what the fish eat
I cannot say for certain, it is enough to sustain them
Through tidal waves, grief and salty tears, I am a storm
Of slapping fins, gulping gills and bobbing mouths
This ecosystem feels so precarious
Smoke in my lungs around my heart
Engulfs my stomach, I gasp for air
While the fish gasp for water
Neither of us is wrong
I shrink my abdomen
I nearly lose my own
Great lake
Forest has a degree in cultural anthropology and comparative literature. He works as a kitchen assistant at Mylk and Hummus and as a staff person at Beyond Van Gogh. His visual poems were selected for the 2021 Lit Show by Infinity’s Kitchen.
