i never got the puppy

or kitten i asked for

when i was little

my first pet was

a goldfish,

the perfect kind of pet

according to my mother

who liked things

small, contained, quiet

it lasted two days.

one morning

the bowl was empty

a wet arc on the counter

the fish,

a shimmering carcass

on tiled floor

we hadn’t even named it yet

try, try again

the next one

followed its predecessor,

in pursuit of freedom

or a higher power

in chinese lore

goldfish promise luck

ours went looking

for better odds

leaping glass

testing air

and in the three seconds

they could remember

they looked at us

and decided

they could do better