Speaking as a Salmon fry,
I am acutely aware
my odds of lying
in this pool with eggs
of my own hover
around one in five
thousand.
Yet statisticians
forget in their tests
that my stream sparkles
more than the rest,
and trillium petals
sometimes swirl,
above my perfect pool.
I am going to be the first
Salmon Artist.
I will craft from the river stones
mosaics.
I will carry glowing aspen paint
far out into the cold violet palette
of the deep.
From my fins
a streambed starscape
will complement waves.
I’ll weave the kelp
into arching golden
oaks beholden
to all who range the seas.
Egg-eating scuds
ferocious floods
salamanders and
grizzled anglers,
all will leave me in peace.
Because I
am not a one in five thousand. I
am a one in a million
Salmon fry artist,
and I’ve got to paint
this pool
before I die in it.
“Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill – Gulf of Mexico” by Kris Krug.
Hugh Gabriel
Hugh Gabriel is currently an English and Environmental Studies double major at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Hugh grew up in Wisconsin and some of his fondest memories come from time spent on the wild shores of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. This is Hugh's first published poem, and he is excited to continue exploring the connections between people, water, and conservation as his writing career develops.
Find Hugh on Instagram.