"The Dilemma of a Goldfish"
Maria Cury
Olympia High School PTSA
Orlando, FL

Read This Artist's Statement

The Dilemma of a Goldfish
I am a goldfish,
In a bowl, 
--A quaint, circular bowl--
With a castle,
--A little, yellow castle--
On a windowsill
With a view
Of the ocean,
--A wide, shapeless ocean--
And I swim...
I look...
I wonder...
And quickly I forget, with my five-second memory,
And my little yellow castle
Surprises me once more,
And I swim 'round again,
To look at the ocean,
And dream of the rhythm of waves, how it rocks me
Back-forth... back-forth...
And I--
--Oh look, it's my castle--
And I swim 'round again,
And I wonder how it feels
To have the sun shimmer on my back
Like it does on the water's skin,
Or what it feels like to have seaweed
Brush up against my gills, or--
--Oh look, it's my castle--
And I swim 'round again
And imagine the rush of adrenaline coursing through my little self
As I dodge quickly--left-right! left right! --
The plummet dive of seagulls, and how-
--Oh look, it's my castle--
And I swim 'round again,
Thinking about the tickle of a school of bubbles
Floating past my scales,
And the taste of something other than fish flakes,
And sink water,
And the occasional sticky finger
Shoved into my bowl, and--
--Oh look, it's my castle--
And I swim 'round again,
And I wiggle my tail,
And pretend I had stretching room
(A benefit of ocean real estate),
And pretend to spiral and flip
(Without smacking into the glass),
And I come to the conclusion
That my favorite place is--
--Oh look, it's my castle--
And I swim 'round again.