Box.
Taking a break from the cold,
we step inside to look at the aquarium.
Amazement hits first.
A wall made out of glass
with an entire world behind it.
The water is lit up
by the bright colors of the fish
and the light refracting off the moving water.
Seeing everything move with unison
seems beautiful at first-- but then it clicks.
I realize that these fish are not moving in a dance,
they are moving to get out.
Every fiber of their being full of
anxiety.
This is not their home.
This is not the ocean.
What I am looking at is
a mere 50 foot long tank
full of captive life.
They're in a jail
yet they've done nothing wrong.
the only life they can live now is
one of fear,
one of anxiety,
one of boredom,
one of exhaust.
Never to move outside the walls again
until they give up their fight
and die
in
this
foreign
box.
Taking a break from the cold,
we step inside to look at the aquarium.
Amazement hits first.
A wall made out of glass
with an entire world behind it.
The water is lit up
by the bright colors of the fish
and the light refracting off the moving water.
Seeing everything move with unison
seems beautiful at first-- but then it clicks.
I realize that these fish are not moving in a dance,
they are moving to get out.
Every fiber of their being full of
anxiety.
This is not their home.
This is not the ocean.
What I am looking at is
a mere 50 foot long tank
full of captive life.
They're in a jail
yet they've done nothing wrong.
the only life they can live now is
one of fear,
one of anxiety,
one of boredom,
one of exhaust.
Never to move outside the walls again
until they give up their fight
and die
in
this
foreign
box.