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Something Vast

Something Vast

A goldfish inside the aquarium

reminded me

that I had forgotten

to feed him

and his friends

I said sorry

and fed them all

they rubbed their noses

against the glass

I thought

they were saying thank you

it was kind of him

to remind me

about his friends

sometimes

I feel sorry for them

depending on others

for everything

and then

I find myself thinking

my life is far better than theirs

but they have

far fewer things

to worry about

I have many

they live

in an artificial world

designed by humans

yet

they glow best

when the light falls on them

they do not complain

they do not say much

it feels

as though they are happy

and safe

inside their little world

maybe they worry

about murky water

I do not know

if they are afraid of dying

I cannot see them cry

how would a fish cry

underwater

perhaps they do

but water

does not listen

does not understand

it mixes everything

far away

their relatives are hooked

and pulled

some suffocate

inside fishing nets

some become

a delicacy

on someone else’s table

their mouths

left open

as if they were trying

to say one last thing

before dying

humans do not care

bigger fish

do not care

they give themselves

to the ecosystem

and even if

I released these fish

into a river

or the ocean

tomorrow

there would be

no promise

that they would live

for long

but at least

for a little while

even for a single moment

they would become

part of something greater

something bigger

something vast

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2 responses to “Something Vast”

  1. Sheknowsallblog Avatar
    Sheknowsallblog

    There’s something profound in this, the way you move from the simple act of feeding them to this deeper question about what it means to live safely in a small world versus belonging to something vast. The image of them rubbing their noses against the glass, which you read as gratitude but could also be longing, holds all that tension. You’re wrestling with something real here: whether safety bought by dependence is a gift or a cage. And that last image, the moment of freedom, even if brief—it’s enough. For a single moment to be part of something greater. That matters more than we admit. 🐠

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    1. Frain Chakrit Avatar
      Frain Chakrit

      That’s true. You observed it really well. I feel like even the fish wants to be part of something vast, if only for a moment before taking its final breath. Maybe that’s true for us as well. We all need to raise our heads and lift our souls toward something greater, something only humanity seems to understand. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my poem.

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