Shark Soup

written By

I have an irrational fear in the
shower when I close my eyes that a
shark will burst through the tile
wall and devour me whole

Perhaps that’s because within the
red waters in the chambers of my
heart, there lurks a shark with an
appetite unceasing till it has
swallowed every top floater alive

My heart is encased in shark teeth,
is a rubber shield of death impenetrable

Except to you, who pried it open when
your lips locked on mine and your tongue
searched for sustenance like a hungry shark

My irrational fear is you

Our first kiss every time reminds me every
time of your delicious core, which beats like
a revolutionary fist, gushes like punctured
skin from a mortal wound

And like a good vampire shark, I open my
serrated jaws, sink my razor teeth in you,
deep in you, my love, past your cream dermis
walls till I find that which is all alone,

unprotected

Then I feed from it.

  • Alex Z. Salinas is the author of three poetry collections and a book of stories, City Lights From the Upside Down (San Antonio Review Press), which was included in the National Book Critics Circle’s Critical Notes. His poetry collection Hispanic Sonnets (FlowerSong Press) is his latest book, with Trash Poems (Gnashing Teeth Publishing) forthcoming in 2023. Salinas holds an M.A. in English Literature and Language from St. Mary’s University, and lives in San Antonio, Texas.

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