He takes the hook out
of the mobius eel.
His thumb, white as snow
from polar waters,
is accidentally barbed,
bleeds shiny ectoplasm
resembling plastic wrap.
He tastes the transparency,
knows the syndrome:
Without an outside
(shell, scales, a double-breasted
suit woven of crushed saints,
even the waterlogged dermis
of a drowning victim)
there is only trust:
blind grub happily
coiled beneath a boot.
Without an inside
(heart, lungs, umbilical
memories twitching back in time
like an opossum's tail)
trust is impossible.
He throws the eel back.
All is superficial after all.
C.E. Chaffin is the author of Elementary (poems), released in 1997 by Mellen Press. His poetry, columns, fiction, and critical essays have been widely published on the web and in print, in publications ranging from The Alaska Quarterly Review to Zuzu's Petals. In addition, he edits the online literary journal, The Melic Review (http://www.themelicreview.com), and tutors poetry online. He lives and works in Long Beach, California.
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