GILLS
after the WIRED article: “The Best Cure for Hiccups: Remind Your Brain You’re Not a Fish” (2008)
it’s called atavism
apparently
an “evolutionary throwback”
didn’t you hear?
the hiccups
(or rather, spasms of the diaphragm)
is just a human brain
subtract the human / add the fish
is a brain
believing itself to be in the wrong body
trying to adapt by whatever means necessary
they say with assistance
with the reassuring repetition of
you’re human / not a fish / you’re human
the brain will realize its mistake
and self-correct
though, i wonder:
what if the brain knows best?
what if it’s only striving for an old life?
why opt to sink if you can swim?
we never should’ve lost our gills
i think / i say in a way
we still need them
so when we believe we’ve lost all breath left to hold onto
we’ll still have a way to breathe
that maybe with assistance
with the reassuring repetition of
you’re a fish / not human / you’re a fish
so many of us
would stop drowning
About the Poet
G.L. Maverick is a being, just like you, and would like for you to remember that you days are numbered... but there's no sense in counting down. Maverick is a poet and aspiring novelist who lives with her family in Virginia (US). Her work appears or is forthcoming in issues of Versification, Apricity, Boats Against the Current, Roi Faineant, & Corporeal Lit Mag. Also, feel free to monitor her nonsensical musings on Twitter @gracenleemav.