EELS
Laura McKee
early mornings in Trieste
young Freud picked out eels
from the fishermen’s catch
took them home to cut them up
all morning all afternoon
looking for balls
when my children were small
they found an eel on the beach
and when they ran to tell me
another boy laid claim to the eel
stood there indefatigable
with his stick and the eel
all his and what was unbearable
was the sadness in his eyes
