Stargazy Pie (Poetry)

Caught — as though to their surprise —
in a steaming tide of pastry
their motion frozen in mid-bob
a shoal of Cornish pilchard rise and gape —
almost comical amidst the crisp brown swell
they stare skywards — ogling the sight
tails flailing at the air.

Macabre — the odd but passing sense
they gaze at other worlds
where death might offer brighter seas
as trade for sacrifice —
some spell’s poetic recipe
that glazes over brittle fin
and soothes by sprigs of garnish laid
beside each bulging coin-round eye
incredulous from that last swim
through oceans hot with stars.