She isn’t saying much,
just letting the soft soles of her outdoor Crocs
float her through the aquarium.
Her children smile at green sea turtles,
hide from baby sharks, laugh at the sting ray’s face.

She softly explains the piranha skull
they’re looking at is dead and cannot bite them.
When her husband tries to get her attention,
she snaps her jaws to say she’s busy with the kids.

The sign on the wall reads:
Rabbitfish are a very peaceful species,
and predators tend to leave them alone
because of their venomous spines.
I decide to write a poem.

Carl Burkitt 2025