apologies to the seagulls - lauren elise fisher

Way back in the seventh grade, when my house

laid a little down the way; a waffle doused

with ice cream to aid the walk, my hair plaited

in braids- I took another trott to school.

Out of the brush, came four claws:

(an easy, brutal rush) is all I saw

I cursed the seagulls then and there

not-so-regal, fists in the air:

“You took my breakfast- G-d damn them!”

But I didn’t see clearly, I wasn’t fair.

If I hadn’t been quick to flee and taken care

to take in what was in front of me.

It wasn’t a seagull, I’m afraid to say

(they don’t have claws a mile long)

but likely a falcon on a slow day

hoping for her fortune to suddenly change.

I can’t fault her on that

Or the gulls (rightfully) squawking “shame”.

Lauren Elise Fisher (she/hers) is a theatre artist, stage manager, and writer based out of Bridgeport, CT. She holds a B.A. in Theatre Studies from the University of Connecticut where she studied stage management, performance, and puppetry; she also studied musical theatre performance and playwriting at the O’Neill. Her most recent publications can be found in CultureCult’s Spring Offensive anthology, the Canyon Voices, Afterpast Review, Naked Cat Lit, and Local Gems Press’ Connecticut Poetry Review 2023. Keep up with Lauren on Instagram, Twitter, & BlueSky: @AllFishSwim.