ANGLER IN ANGUISH
JAWS OF LIFE
Feathers flutter like maracas
as the grey carnivorous torpedo,
stiff between lemon legs and streamlined bills,
plunges into the lake’s threatened retina, pupils dilating,
nib wedging through surface tension,
an assertive plunk, two seconds, then unsure bubbling,
as blood iron salt floods the beak in a soggy soup,
and the fish flails sharply,
its hope fleeting,
gills jolting under folded cartilage.
The crane readies its claws on the mangroves,
wings flush with the horizon, clearing him for flight,
and as the first talon rises, the fish jerks and jumps free,
breaking from the beast’s bite. It leaps into the dark.
BEN SEELIG ‘26
I love watching the tall, stalky birds like cranes and ibises. When they open their wings to dry in the sun, I can't help but stare at them. My clearest memory with one of these birds is when I saw one catch a fish it its beak, only for it to jump back into the water, leaving the bird disappointed and hungry.
SABRINA DOTY ‘24
My inspiration for this piece was the relationship between female and male Angler fish. The females are the version often depicted in movies, like Nemo, as an antagonistic creature with long teeth and blank eyes, yet the male Angler is a smaller guppy sized fish that holds onto her back. I wanted to show how female species have the potential to be more powerful than their male counterparts, yet how they will forever be the villain. "Angler in Anguish" doubles as a jewelry box as well to compare her fierceness to domestic items commonly connected to women to show how feminine power is often suppressed by the patriarchy.