Pelicans

Note: today's prompt was to combine a speaker and an event that don't ordinarily go together. I sure couldn't beat the example given http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2008/04/24, but this one is equally tongue-in-cheek...or is that fish in pouch?

They cruise the gleaming green glass

cases of the fishmonger,

the wares inside attractively displayed--

a fan of lace framing the silvery scales

of fresh fish still swimming.

It smells good here--a little briny, a dash

of iodine, salt, and ozone. None of that dead stuff

for these discerning shoppers.

It's just a little dive, really,

providing something to fill pouch and belly,

maybe some sushi to take home to the young'uns,

or to stop and eat on the fly.

Sometimes they settle down for a closer look,

perhaps complaining of long commutes,

or squawking about the diminished size of the catch,

about the curl that doesn't last,

or the friend whose belly couldn't.