The Exhibit
Attempting to maintain a healthy distance between myself and my meaning-
less career—I visited the zoo
I purchased a premium pass—Allowing me access to a temporary exhibit
on view—The ticket agent opened the hole in her glass enclosure
She handed me a pamphlet describing an experiment—At a lab in Nebraska
a group of zoologists genetically modified a fish—The fish travelled the world
showcasing its extraordinary gifts—This fish has extraordinary gifts?
I questioned the woman in the booth with disbelief—The thing lives on land
and even prefers land to ocean—She responded—Barely looking up
Every day—She explained—guests wait in line for hours just to share a conversation
with the fish—So long as you lasted fewer than five minutes you could sit
at this sleek teakwood table talking to the fish—I approached
the queue snaking out from a secluded corner of the zoo
I am Beth Anne—The fish proclaimed in a scripted sort of way
before telling me about a premonition predicting my arrival—I was napping
on the lawn of my favorite park in my least favorite city—She asserted
when a vibrant yellow leaf came to rest directly upon me
This leaf was unusually heavy so its contact startled me awake
The leaf warned Beth Anne of a threat
I posed to her sanity according to some divine provenance
and instructed her to kill me—This is why I am no longer alive