R.A. Villanueva

Vanitas

With braided-line through dorsal fins, pierced
through cartilage and denticles, the artist suspends
the Requiem shark in solution, makes of it
a triptych in aquablue formaldehyde.

In a gallery overlooking the park, a field
trip circles the tank, carries drawing pads
and soft charcoals. Light refracts, breaks
the great fish into a shiver of parts.

Cast in this sunset thickened
by the glass, two of the children compare
sketches: her shark devours a diving bell
whole. His nightswimmer stares
straight up into a whitewater throat.