Metamorphosis
by Ian Khadan
Yusef loves the rain.
On the very hot days
he jumps into the Atlantic and wonders
why he was born human.
He watches the fishing boats stack in
against the coast to sell their catch for the day
and thinks he should have been a fish,
figures he could outsmart these fishermen—
all brawn with their brass chests pointed up at the sun;
arms etched with brands from fishing nets and hooks.
He slips under the water with as much breath
as his lungs can bare
and tucks his arms into his side;
how badly he wishes his feet were fins.
The noise of merchants at the surface
do not reach his ear
and even in the shallow
the sun does not burn his skin.
With one roll of his hips
he angles his head down towards the depths
and follows into the dark.
