Serpents from the Sea Entwine the Limbs and Torsos
of my sons and me: thus
starts Laocoön’s lament.
Vergil lays all three to rest,
crushed and poisoned.
In a lost play by Sophocles,
however, the serpents kill
only the two issue.
The survivor priest
who knew too much
sometimes stands at the edge
of the sea, cursing the gulls,
stand-ins for the gods.
One day he smashes the old
rocking horse to kindling
because he can’t remember
where it came from,
because it reminds him
of the little boys who grew
to be manly sons
dead in coils of serpent.
Because it rocks by itself at night.
Harrison Fisher has published twelve collections of poems since 1977. He was awarded an NEA fellowship in poetry in 1978. After a long hiatus from writing and publishing (most of the 21stC), in 2024 Fisher has new work in BlazeVOX, Misfitmagazine, Rundelania, Transom, and numerous other magazines.