poliphilo | Lily Pond

Our next door neighbour had a pond. There were lilies and weed and fish. It was a very small pond. Concrete. Nestled in a nook with a rocky bank behind it. The fish rose opened and closed their fishy mouth with an audible pop, pop, pop, then turned and went down into the depths. How deep? A foot or two, I suppose, but the water was thick and murky and it might just as well have been bottomless.

One winter the pond froze solid. No more fish. Our neighbour didn't have the heart to replace them. Next summer the aquatic plants were especially luxuriant