Fooled
Another mouth
to feed, another
bowl to clean?
Maybe that's
what she thought
when she opened
my gift to her:
a goldfish for her
April 1st birthday
She thanked me,
though not the way
she did when
I delighted her.
She did name him:
Fool
Is it a bad thing
or a good thing
to give someone
you love the one
thing that you desire
when you are 12?
I made my
father promise
to bring Fool
in the car when
we moved
a thousand miles
before he joined us
I've tried to
forgive and forget.
But all I can do is
imagine:
a toilet flushing,
a swirl of orange
a quick dash to a packed car.
I was fooled.
We all were.
Image by Andrew Pescod
