Against Porcelain

Ines Pujos

For Maxime Genin. Drowned August 2011

scientists in Hong-Kong have discovered a prehistoric fish
washed ashore in my bathtub among hair knots & soap suds
National Geographic is on its way
this creature with ten eyes & no fins
there are debates whether it is native
I stick my hand in the giant tub & when I don't feel
any scales rub against me I dunk my head
& see you Maxime turn into a jellyfish
Saint Christopher dangles from your neck
he's scraping against porcelain with his nails
& I don't know how bones get so heavy
a pair of lungs the island of Guadeloupe
stop absorbing water Maxime
the man from the hotline told me that if I say your name
again you won't taste how sweet the water has become
please stop opening your mouth
there's a fish in my bathtub he climbs in throats
scientists estimate he can live up to sixty years or more
they say he has ten eyes from which he spits blood
to scare off his predators
he's an endangered species Maxime please pull the cord
Maxime the crew is at my door I can hear them
I can't see anything past this