i am a salmon snatched up

in an eagle’s claw;

no more helpless to the current

circumstance as i was helpless

to follow my instincts against

the current. but i wasn’t always

prey—there was a day when i,

eagle, was cussed out by prometheus,

but how could he blame me

anymore than i, my eagle?

i’ve been shark, songbird,

house sparrow crashed into glass

windows, goldfish won at carnival

games—don’t you see it?

when the eagle tears into me,

remember that i will

wake up tomorrow.