A Title Fit for a King

The Loneliest Fish in the Sea

To be one among the many fish in the sea
Is a plague to the ever-evolving prototype of fish like me
With bold black stripes
And well-defined, evenly smooth skin
The ability to stay, head-under-water
While I navigate the world in front of me
And all its offerings
No matter how many times I am set off-course
Towards the charming sound of boats’ propellers
Near the crest of soft waves in the water
I swim to approach and meet the bright afternoon’s sunlight
With a fate unknown to me

Here, at the bottom of the sea
I search for a better view
A new school (of thought) to swim among
Finding only doubt and reprieve
I gather a sense of depraved indifference
Among those thought to be my peers
Actions only breed defeat and disappoint
So, instead I float
Caution to the wind
Sails in my back
Looking for a better fish

Only I cannot find this other fish
One to say, I’ve met my match
They all pick ones more regular than I
Ones to be recognized as love
When amongst fish like us
I beg the question of if it truly exists
In the slightest form
Say blowing bubbles when we speak
Or erring on the side of caution
When we swim with our bellies full
Bloated from the absence of love
Only knowing the familiarity of loss
In a clear fishbowl
Fit for two
Yet only the lonely survive
Known to every other fish
As the “Great One” and “The Gentleman Amongst All the Others”
“A Clown Fish” really
So colorful in design
Seems designed for a destiny of swimming in circles
A world of close encounters
Waiting for the pinch of food
To race to the surface
Only to be disappointed by the normalcy of regularity
In the taste
Hoping just once for a treat
As my mouth breaches the surface

Where is my handler
Why can’t I get a handle
On the life laid out for me
Are even fish predetermined to multiple
All except me
The loneliest fish in the sea