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perhappened mag
issue 13: SALTWATER

to carry the fish
who would become a bird

PAM YVE SIMON
Saltwater fish.
Iridescent, luminescent
tangram scales –
anchored in place.
Tail fins –
a feathering.

Ah, for a fish to become a bird.
To join heaven and ocean,
as if
I could pull myself together.

I don’t know how to swim,
even in my dreams.

I was so afraid,
to get into the ocean.
I was pregnant,
and worried.

So you took me to a saltwater pool.
You convinced me: even with the weight
I was bearing,
I could float.

My pregnant belly interrupted
the horizon
of my thoughts.

The warmth of the water below,
the cold fear of life above.

A floating fish is dead.
A floating bird is alive.
A floating pregnant person
is trying
to be twice alive:
to carry the fish
who would become a bird.

Pam Yve Simon (she/her) believes in love and poetry. She earned her bachelor of arts in English and American literature from New York University. Say hi to her on Twitter @PamYve.
perhappened mag
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header photo: joel fulgencio (unsplash)

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