The Memory of a Goldfish

filthy fingernails

tap against the glass

spilling water on

the sides, dripping

-

your cruel enjoyment

only lasts for a minute

but it completely shakes

my entire tiny world

-

flakes fall from above

pedigree lies you feed me

still tasteless. still bland

but i eat it up, starved

-

for something more

than plastic neon pebbles

and fake algae; i open

my mouth but no words

-

bubble out. left gaping

stupidly—staring at the

boundary i can't cross

as you get bored of me

-

and stand up, leaving to

find another pastime. i wonder

if we share the same brain

for how quickly you forget i exist.