fishbowl eyes

PJ Ryan
Author: PJ Ryan
Word Count: 297
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fishbowl eyes

fishbowl eyes belongs to the following groups:

All Things Poetic, Artistic, Philosophical and Melbourne & Victoria

She had rivers of black running down her cheeks.

Her eyes reminded me of the twenty five centimeter fish bowl I once had when I was nineteen and ready for things I wasn’t.

When I looked at her, I wanted to stare for too long and tap on the sclera to test the strength of the white of her eyes.

Don’t scare the fish.

I saw a shark in her eyes one night. It was circling a memory, its black fin slicing through the calmness and warning threatening schools of thought.

Today, her mascara streams down her face, like leaking octopus ink and I wonder what it tastes like.

Was she an obscure culinary treat or a dangerous creature of spontaneity?

She said things sometimes that made me step backward once or twice, just enough to include safe space. I was never frightened of her, though wary.

Her fishbowl eyes were enticing and sometimes entrancing but I knew there were things trapped within and I wondered how to set them free.

My mother once tipped my two goldfish down the toilet when I was seven and three quarters but she said they’d have a better life and it wasn’t fair to keep them in such a small square tank.

I held my breath as I thought about them slurping into the revolts of the S bend, down and away, out through a big underground pipe. Hopefully they found the ocean.

I reach across from me and slide two delicate fingers across my friends cheek, her ink attaches to my skin and for a moment I consider trailing it across my tongue.

She smiles at me and the smudges in her eyes help her to see more clearly.

The view outside often makes her cry.

© ryan

  • Lisa  Jewell

    Lisa Jewell

    Fuck……………what a stylish and wondrous piece of writing…you had me enthralled, entranced and reading several times.

    I absolutely adore your fishbowl analogy. xxx

  • Holly Ringland

    Holly Ringland

    nix, you just get better and better girl. your writing is brilliant and i always walk away feeling so privileged to have read your trails of words, and to know and adore you as i do.

  • Jess Andrews

    Jess Andrews

    amazing writing, like Lisa, you had me going over it again and again

  • Matt Penfold

    Matt Penfold

    Wow, your imagery is graphic, dark and thought provoking, excellent writing.

  • natapee

    natapee

    i love your word choices, your writing is very mindful. a great metaphor. xx

  • ShadowDancer

    ShadowDancer

    Oh PJ, this is crazy good… i really did read it again and again.. what a morself, i could taste the conflicting emotions in this piece… i’ll stop babbling now and will just sit back in awe. xx

  • seeker19

    seeker19

    Wow, great! When I take photos of people or look at portraits I always try to read the eyes, and it’s so disappointing when they have no depth, but sometimes there is so much inside them that it can be frightening. You’ve expressed this so well for me, and I really love this line in particular: She smiles at me and the smudges in her eyes help her to see more clearly/The view outside often makes her cry. It adds a wonderful depth to the piece.

  • rubyjo

    rubyjo

    awesome wording

  • aglaia b

    aglaia b

    i’ve been savouring to read this all day, cause when i saw it in my activity, i had knots in my tummy, and knew it was gonna be a good one.
    so love entering your world

    just brilliant writing nicole ;-) XOX

  • Genevieve Robey

    Genevieve Robey

    Once again another fabulous piece … such an interesting darkness and depth …

  • skinnyman

    skinnyman

    I saw a shark in her eyes one night. It was circling a memory, its black fin slicing through the calmness and warning threatening schools of thought. Amazing.

  • MissAlexis

    MissAlexis

    You’re in the top 3 of my favorite writers that I’ve met on here so far, defiantly one of the best. I’m picky; congratulations.

  • Rebekah  Anderson

    Rebekah Anderson

    This is really well written, PJ. I just love the language, the flawless metaphor and the power it holds. Really well done
    xx

  • amanda marx

    amanda marx

    . . . this is simply the best piece of writing i’ve seen on the bubble . . . thankyou for sharing your beautiful words with us . . .
    xXx

  • Astoreth

    Astoreth

    pj, you always leave me feeling wobbly and wondering…..you always have and you probably always will…..you’re the best, xxxx

  • Rex Inkpen

    Rex Inkpen

    i think your doting admirers have said it all pj… beautiful story, dripping with your wry observation and cold hard hyperbole..

  • Cassey

    Cassey

    This is incredible PJ. I am in awe of your skills.

  • BiographyofRed8

    BiographyofRed8

    woah.. I felt this in my chest when I was reading it, perhaps also the end, how you write is quite amazing, it amazes me how you can bring in all these different threads and then at the end, with a seemingly innocent line.. yes “the view outside.. ” just brilliant

  • Lund

    Lund

    “I saw a shark in her eyes one night. It was circling a memory, its black fin slicing through the calmness and warning threatening schools of thought.”
    That just grabbed me. You write so amazingly creative and heart wrenching. Just wow…

  • Shoaib .

    Shoaib .

    lots of really cool lines in here .. really cool writing

  • Kristin  Reynolds

    Kristin Reynolds

    Awesome! I love this, wow, outstanding writing, filled with everything yummy, pain, memory, love, and the viceral sense of something untouchable. beautiful. Kristin

  • Rhinovangogh

    Rhinovangogh

    Wow again. I love your work. Sincerely, RVG

  • lawrie .

    lawrie .

    Saw your comment on one of gretchens pieces, thought i’d come see, and yes wow, red bubble strikes again in finding another great read….hi pj

  • aglaia b

    aglaia b

    special stuff hey!
    LOL
    i love you ;-) xox

  • Alan Dean

    Alan Dean

    quirky, beautifully written …..

  • jiba

    jiba

    Wow! This is really inspiring writing!

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Tags:

eyes, fish, fishbowl, ink, octopus, pj, ryan and shark