Courage
By Denis Jei McGrath
Courage is like the stars lighting up the night without the moon
Or like a dolphin swimming across the Pacific Ocean by himself
It is like a tiny dragon, ready to fly for his first time
Courage is like a yellow chickadee, flying through a blizzard
[The result of the most recent artist in residence program at SVF. This round was a writer.]
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wasabi Dies
Denis and Liam both got fish almost 2 years ago. They were what we would have called Siamese fighting fish. These days they're called Beta's. Or maybe they're different? Who can tell?
Anyway, about 6 months ago they suddenly went from very active and good looking to sluggish and mottled. So there was a late-night rush to the pet store, where we invested in everything we could find that was supposed to improve their condition.
And they didn't die. Not immediately anyway. Actually they lasted quite long. But yesterday Liam's fish, Wasabi, finally succumbed. I came down in the morning to find him crying into his cereal. I knew immediately what had happened. Wasabi had barely moved the previous day, and I guessed his time with us was coming to an end. I was right. And Liam was devastated.
I had a VB game that night, so I wasn't around for the funeral. Liam made and decorated a casket for him. Then he went off by himself for a bit, came back, and they went into the garden to bury him. Liam marked the grave with a lovely shell.
The next night I had just gotten home from work and was in the family room with Mandy and Mimi. Liam was sitting in a chair next to us. Mandy looked at him, and asked if I knew what happened to his head. His head? Hell, as long as it was still attached I was cool. Still - I looked. No blood. That was good. Then I noticed that the top of his head did look odd. There was a line across his hair. Not a line of ink or anything like that. His hair was in a very sharp line about at the top of his head, from ear to ear. It looked very odd.
I asked him what had happened. He answered very slowly. You could tell he was wondering if he would get into trouble. He began to relay the story of the previous day. When Wasabi died and was to be buried he couldn't bear the thought of them being apart. So he snuck off, found a pair of scissors, and cut off a section of his hair, which he put into the casket with Wasabi!
I looked at him, stunned. I know there are plenty of cultures who bury cherished items with them, group burials, etc. But I'm fairly sure he hasn't been exposed to much of that. It was something he came up with all by himself. You could tell it was something very meaningful for him.
He didn't get into trouble. He could have cut it all off if this was what he had in mind. I still get choked up even thinking about it.
Denis and Liam both got fish almost 2 years ago. They were what we would have called Siamese fighting fish. These days they're called Beta's. Or maybe they're different? Who can tell?
Anyway, about 6 months ago they suddenly went from very active and good looking to sluggish and mottled. So there was a late-night rush to the pet store, where we invested in everything we could find that was supposed to improve their condition.
And they didn't die. Not immediately anyway. Actually they lasted quite long. But yesterday Liam's fish, Wasabi, finally succumbed. I came down in the morning to find him crying into his cereal. I knew immediately what had happened. Wasabi had barely moved the previous day, and I guessed his time with us was coming to an end. I was right. And Liam was devastated.
I had a VB game that night, so I wasn't around for the funeral. Liam made and decorated a casket for him. Then he went off by himself for a bit, came back, and they went into the garden to bury him. Liam marked the grave with a lovely shell.
The next night I had just gotten home from work and was in the family room with Mandy and Mimi. Liam was sitting in a chair next to us. Mandy looked at him, and asked if I knew what happened to his head. His head? Hell, as long as it was still attached I was cool. Still - I looked. No blood. That was good. Then I noticed that the top of his head did look odd. There was a line across his hair. Not a line of ink or anything like that. His hair was in a very sharp line about at the top of his head, from ear to ear. It looked very odd.
I asked him what had happened. He answered very slowly. You could tell he was wondering if he would get into trouble. He began to relay the story of the previous day. When Wasabi died and was to be buried he couldn't bear the thought of them being apart. So he snuck off, found a pair of scissors, and cut off a section of his hair, which he put into the casket with Wasabi!
I looked at him, stunned. I know there are plenty of cultures who bury cherished items with them, group burials, etc. But I'm fairly sure he hasn't been exposed to much of that. It was something he came up with all by himself. You could tell it was something very meaningful for him.
He didn't get into trouble. He could have cut it all off if this was what he had in mind. I still get choked up even thinking about it.
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