mmmcdxcii

bottom dweller

he scooped up
the bait without
even listening
to the pitch

the shitty little
ditties he kept
whistling on the
way to the resort

would’ve made
most folks a bit
uncomfortable
if not queasy

whilst whistling
the car – a nimble
red one of the
sports variety –

swerved a bit
to the beat of
whatever ditty
he was whistling

and then took a
harder jerk when
he tried to keep
from slamming

into a big bird –
a pelican, from
the looks of it,
which was odd,

he thought –
and this he did
successfully
but in so doing

scraped a few
sparks against
the guardrail
with the cherry

exterior of the
passenger-side
door and then
it was all swivel

and swerve
as the tires
of the whistler’s
sleek automobile

began to skitter
and squeal
upon the
pavement

for a few split
seconds before
the whole car
went into a

full pivot
twisting
belly-up
as it flew

over the rail –
which took a
chunk off the
convertible’s

hardtop as it
soared over the
sheer cliff’s edge
falling in what –

if there had
been a spec
tator anywhere
in the vicinity –

would have
seemed to be
absurdly 

slow motion

all the way
down into
the deep
ravine

he died in
stantly hav
ing never once
experienced

a single
moment of
self-aware
ness – the

chinese to-
go box filled
with wormy
soil was also

instantly
obliterated
directly up
on impact

but later –
found comp
letely intact
in the crumpled

convertible’s
bunged-up
trunk – was
found a plas

tic bag filled to
near capacity
with cool clear
water that

was sealed
with a twist-
wrapped
rubber band

it had nary
a puncture
and inside of
it were a baker’s

dozen unfazed
minnows which
were swimming
around and

around calm
ly in tight
coordinat
ed loops