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Thursday, March 27, 2014

FITS AND STARTS ON THE BIG YELLOW FISH TAXI

by Tricia Knoll


Image: A pool in the Sacramento River where young salmon were stranded last year (Fish and Wildlife Service via KQED)


                           California Drought Has Salmon Hitching Rides in Trucks 
                                                                 --Bloomberg News, March 26, 2014


Oh, as rare as hen’s teeth, or when pigs fly
under a rain of cats and dogs and the horse in my pasture
is purple.

Or as surprising as the black President
and peace in the Middle East.

When fish ride bicycles,
there are so many fish
so far to go

thirty million salmon grab taxis
from Sacramento to the sea.


Tricia Knoll
had a salmon omelet for breakfast. She writes poetry in Portland, Oregon and has a chapbook Urban Wild coming out in May from Finishing Line Press.