Beverly Finney photographed at the December 3, 2016 Art of Poetry event at Hickory Museum of Art as she shares her poem inspired by the Pat Viles artwork. Photo courtesy of Roger and Ginny Sanford.

Beverly Finney

GRANDMA FISH HAD AN ITCH
after “Fishing Hole” by Pat Viles

My Paleozoic grandmother
was a fish
gliding
through water,
sifting oxygen through gills,
eating algae salad
with a side
of tiny crustaceans,
not knowing her body
had a secret longing,
or maybe
just an inclination
to take to the land,
kind of check out
the scenery,
change her perspective,
see who she might be
in another setting,
what it might feel like
to carry herself differently,
change up her diet,
add a little diversity
to her life.
She passed that along to me.