Fragile Passion

I kept thinking of a cracked fish tank

where the water leaks slowly, water level dropping inch by inch.

The fish seem unbothered at the first crack,

yet as it spreads they begin to take notice.

Their worlds shrink day by day, hour by hour.

I keep saying I’ll address the crack tomorrow.

Each day I woke up with my hands dry.

Nothing else was amiss; 

the fish never made a splash, the filter bubbled away without missing a beat.

When the tank emptied, all that was left was a single fish

trying to breathe, to stay afloat.

I reached down to pick it up, and it merely dissolved in my hand.