From the Fish Bowl, Looking in

By Liam Murray

 

My therapist is consulting my witchdoctor

And my imam, my astrologer

 

We have a whole team working

Around the clock to come up with

A sentence that soothes me as much as a

 

“How are you doing?”

 

Typed from your varnish

And paint-flickered fingers through

A bulletproof prison-visit window pane

 

I’m a fish wondering if the humans get bored on the

Other side of the tank, and whether

That’s why they need a regular

 

Change of water

Plastic castles

And nourishment

 

That sends them rising to the ceiling

Snapping at the lofty surface

Before darting back down to hide

Beneath the rocks for safety

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Liam Murray is a translator, editor, and stalker of salaşlık, who has resided in Istanbul for around ten years. He is the Poetry Editor at the Bosphorus Review of Books and can be contacted @doyouknowliammurray on Insta.

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