Duel

Remember the first time we spoke
your soul had tremors, I was hiding

a face. Like a crystal fish that swims
with fairies of a wonder nest,

I showed you many enchanting tales
of my underworld. How algae

on corals that stole my shining fins
made your heart want to restructure

the ocean. My split tongue cradled
your sorrows in mouths of despair-

less eccentricities. How could your
feet not have strayed. I hid my tail

in the black ink by the pier. Your eyes
never coming up from the warm pools

of my gaze. Air leaving lungs
as my unstained fragility

possessed your lips.