ED THE GUSH
Crocodile
Your guide is almost glad he surfaced; see
How his scales glisten in the sunlight; how his skin
Dazzles the company like a golden rain, -
You marvel where he gets his imagery from. . . .
But this same instant, here, far up the Nile,
The little carcass spreads its claws and grins.
'Stop, stop, oh for God's sake, stop!' you shriek
As the fish approach, but he grins on and on
Mercilessly till you think his jaws must crack . . .
And the carcass's tail shines bright, swilled
In the flow of the river and a shoal of fish
Swims like innocents into its throat.
You plead, limp, dangling from the guard-rail, till
With a sudden fish-spilling burp, he stops; he dives
Grinning, soon after. You slump back down in the boat
Cold as a grief, your heart scarcely moving. . . .
Deep under the steamer's deepest plate
This grinning croc' is bursting with small fish.
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