Anglerfish

Of all the things the humans say
how much of them
have been said forever?

I am hungry. I am thirsty
I am crawling inside
something else to sleep

I can’t come to the phone right now
I am staying behind
on my own

to fidget with the carcass
Maybe its bladder
can be made into a bladder?

It’s your night to cook
Where are the hand attachments?
The forks, the knives, the spears

Why do hands make
such inadequate weapons
that we should have to

consider what we hold
before killing, before pulling off
the side of the road?

How long have words
been a part of the head?
Slanted lights in black water

used to trick smaller fish
into listening, into
getting uncomfortably close