Half Sonnet,
beginning with a line from the New York Times
During El Niño anchovies perish.
Gilt fishermen stretch their nets in long barns
Far from the shore. Their craft in dry storage,
They cluster near sandbars where sea-bound terns
Prod the rotting remains of minnow, chub,
And worms. Unbuoyed, this face of the Christ child,
Worn smooth like wheat cents or glass shards long sub-
Merged
(published in Lilliput Review, Number 98, July 1998)