Remora (Latin for Delay)
My shark mother
flies me through the reeds,
up and out to where
the water is deeper
under me, under her.
I have found
a good place
to attach.
I don’t worry much.
We have errands today.
She is hunting, will pass me
the pieces she doesn’t need.
It will be some kind of fish;
I don’t need to know
how to name it.
Everything used to be someone,
and anyway, names tell lies.
Marilyn Rauch Cavicchia 
dang….rather fantastical beginning with the shark imagery but that closure is just flippin tight….everything used to be someone and names tell lies….nice…
Thank you! I often struggle with endings, so your compliment means a lot.
I’ve always liked what the Remora can represent as a metaphor. Really nice job here. Enjoyed. Thanks
Thank you! I had the first line in mind and thought the speaker might be a remora, so I did a little research. It’s really interesting, how they were blamed for delaying ships and for defeating various Roman emperors and dignitaries.
Wow, this is so intriguing! The metaphor of “shark mother” at first sounded negative but then as I read on she sounded more protective. Very interesting write.
Thank you! I wanted the relationship to be a little ambiguous because in real life, while the remora gains food and protection and doesn’t hurt the shark, it’s not clear what, if anything, the shark gets in return. So I didn’t want the poem to get too much into the shark’s emotions. I like a persona poem from time to time!