tiktaalik

By An Nguyen

so the baby really did run
lifted soft, pudgy feet
from the plush of its cradle,
didn’t stop and learn to
walk, just sprinted
through the front door,
no mother in sight,
legs pumping one
in front of the other,
two twin
brothers,
outrunning their origins.

on the other side
of the circle of time:
the primeval fish
crosses the border
between saltwater and sand;
fins dragging,
collecting grit,
its gills stuttering out
the song of a new age.

---

An Nguyen

5/15/23

An Nguyen, a UC Davis alum, is a poet and writer based in the Bay Area. Their phone is perpetually cluttered with half-finished thoughts, unused lines of poetry, and screenshots of every piece of writing that has ever made them feel something. They are currently working in behavioral health and have a passion for youth empowerment. From a list of their favorite words: bevy, clamshell, quiver, consonance.