the bay is flat
so still
that underwater currents
can be seen on the surface
like smoky streaks
on an antique mirror
so still
like time
the earth's rotation
has stopped
and the sun
has stopped overhead
and the light
is sharp and clear
without
summer's
normal humid heaviness
and off shore
a small fish
leaps
and slaps the water
with a crack
that starts a small wave
radiating out in a circle
motion on the bay
from a small jumping fish
the only motion
spreading across the bay
to the gulf
a small leaping fish pushing
against the Gulf of Mexico
and the Atlantic beyond
small
leaping
fish
making
ripples
in universal waters
an anti-tide
a nibble-surge
against the moon's orbit
and the rightness of all
there is and used to be
