Catfish
artwork by sabyashachi hazra
They swim those catfish the whole nightBeside the dirty drain in the kitchen corner
Inside a small pot
Once or twice they take sudden alarm and startle up
Then sleep again.
A bewitchingly beautiful dream glazes their eyes. And
The whole night their sorrows bubble up on the water.
Then it's morning, who knows when the morning comes,
The catfish do not know, only
That from beside her angry husband is flung out the wife
Sweet lovely wife; flung out is
Catfish blood from the sharp blade. From its soft glistening body
One by one the dreams are flung out.
The whole morning, the whole day the house
Fills with their smell
Comes the night again, quiet descends on earth. The
Wife sleeps and dreams of swimming in
The cold blue waters of a distant lake.
Arises then a sudden wind, and
With a crashing noise the kitchen door is thrown open
Wife-catfish startle up alarmed
Behind the catfish are their dreams, in front of them
Are their dreams
And whistling strangely all the while
They pace the whole night from this to that room
In search of that sweet lovely wife.
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