Tanked Carp in Chinatown

By Doug Holder

PROMPT — The way I see it ...

I don't want to carp about this

but this fish-

bluer than bluefish

after all it loves

Muddy Waters

floats in the tank

his bubble has

burst on the surface.

I could save him

if I gave the counterman

a fin

but I don't think

he would like

the place

I'm in.

***** In American and Canadian slang, "fin" refers to a five-dollar bill. It's a shortened version of the Yiddish word "finf," which means "five"

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Doug Holder is the founder of the Ibbetson Street Press and on the Board of the New England Poetry Club. He teaches at Endicott College in Beverly, MA. Doug writes from Somerville, MA.