Eels

 
All of my life I have been scared of eels.
Don’t know why, I can handle spiders and cockroaches,
but eels and snakes give me the shivers.
 
It may have something to do with the way that
they can come out of the water onto land.
 
The blackness of them is a factor as well.
And the silver bellies. And the pink gums with their
little stubby sandpaper teeth. And they can live in mud.
 
Today however, I went with a friend and a quantity
of dog food, and watched while he fed his friends,
these muscular animals.
He stroked them and looked into their eyes.