INLAND FROM SEAWORLD

We left Seaworld and headed west, out past the dune-swept ruins and rusted towns where worn sandstone flowed into clay ponds and not a single dolphin reminded us of our blossoming. In a bar we met an old hand, a down-on-his-luck roustabout, faded denim and faded glory, and he told us about how his sweetheart had kicked his aquarium glass in when he'd cheated on her. "Tetras thrashing among the shards," he wept, "colours you've never seen before." We've seen 'em, pal. And like that, too. Out further they caught frogs and, not knowing what to do with them, made them into princes and folk heroes. We told them about the seal show and the shark tank and they listened half-interested. By a creek we baited a line for turtles. A long angle away in the dim afternoon. Its ripples marched on ahead of us.