by Lisa Vihos
Who is this fish?
Where can I find him?
Can he absolve me of all my guilts?
Can he ever forgive me?
Will he bless my inner child
and let me marry myself to myself?
Can I follow him home to the next
spawning ground?
Who is this holy, breathless one?
Is he encrusted with the wealth
of the Church or does he roam the earth
in tatters, holding aloft his begging bowl?
If he swims toward me now,
will I recognize this fish out of water,
out of earth, out of air? When he courses
the aisles of my life swinging his censer
to shower me with salty blessings,
will I ask who is this holy, shining one
or will I simply accept
his pungent guidance?
The poems of Lisa Vihos have appeared in numerous journals both print and online. She has two Pushcart Prize nominations and four chapbooks, the most recent is Fan Mail from Some Flounder (Main Street Rag Publishing, 2018). She is the Poetry and Arts Editor of Stoneboat Literary Journal and the Sheboygan organizer for 100 Thousand Poets for Change. She compiled the anthology, Van Gogh Dreams (HenschelHAUS Publishing, 2018) and co-edited with Dawn Hogue, From Everywhere a Little: A Migration Anthology just out in 2019 from Water’s Edge Press.
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