20200831

Bullhead


Dan MacIsaac




From murky water
between tarred pilings,
through a dark
labyrinth of currents,

the bullhead sculpin
spirals to lush bait
torn from the mussel’s
gunmetal shell,

ripe flesh draped
like a matador’s
undulating cape
over the bright

barbed hook
that pierces
the scaled lip
and forces

the horned fish
up through a helix
of cross-currents
to corkscrew

flailing, gills
splayed, gasping
into the sere
maze of air.




Dan MacIsaac served for ten years as a director on UVIC’s Environmental Law Centre board. Brick Books published his collection of poetry, Cries from the Ark. His poetry has been published in a wide variety of literary magazines, including filling station, Stand, The Malahat Review, and Arc. Dan MacIsaac’s work has been short-listed for the Walrus Poetry Prize and the CBC Short Story Prize. His website is www.danmacisaac.com. 

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