Fish are good 
As a first audience 
For a poem, 
Says Billy Collins. 

Before sending it out 
Into the World, 
Dip it into a tank, 
Get its feet wet 

In a waterworld. 
Let it rise, 
Not reduced
But rinsed— 

Ready for life 
In the airy world 
Humanity pollutes 
With pride & prose.

______________           

November 12, 2020