A Display Of Mackerel Poem by Mark Doty
A Display Of Mackerel
They lie in parallel rows,
on ice, head to tail,
each a foot of luminosity
barred with black bands,
which divide the scales'
radiant sections
like seams of lead
in a Tiffany window.
Iridescent, watery
prismatics: think abalone,
the wildly rainbowed
mirror of a soap-bubble sphere,
think sun on gasoline.
Splendor, and splendor,
and not a one in any way
distinguished from the other
- nothing about them
of individuality. Instead
they're all exact expressions
of the one soul,
each a perfect fulfillment
of heaven's template,
mackerel essence. As if,
after a lifetime arriving
at this enameling, the jeweler's
made uncountable examples
each as intricate
in its oily fabulation
as the one before;
a cosmos of champleve.
Suppose we could iridesce,
like these, and lose ourselves
entirely in the universe
of shimmer- would you want
to be yourself only,
unduplicatable, doomed
to be lost? They'd prefer,
plainly, to be flashing participants,
multitudinous. Even on ice
they seem to be bolting
forward, heedless of stasis.
They don't care they're dead
and nearly frozen,
just as, presumably,
they didn't care that they were living:
all, all for all,
the rainbowed school
and its acres of brilliant classrooms,
in which no verb is singular,
or every one is. How happy they seem,
even on ice, to be together, selfless,
which is the price of gleaming.
I think Mark Doty's great. An heir to Marianne Moore in his precise use of language and eye for the visual detail. Never bombastic or tedious or pretentious. And no postmodern gibberish. He'll last.
(cont.) About Mark Doty is an American poet and memoirist best known for his work My Alexandria......' AND: 'Born: 1953 (age 70 years) , Maryville, TN Spouse: Alexander Hadel (m.2015) , Paul Lisicky (m.2008-2013' bri : ))
Several themes emerge, inviting readers to contemplate deeper meanings. Have a look look at them. The Beauty in the Mundane:
The narrator finds great beauty in an unexpected subject: rows of dead fish (mackerel) . Despite their identical nature, the narrator discovers a note of perfection in this repetition.
Immersive and meaningful poem embellished with stunning images.
I love how this poem so gently yet purposefully points the reader into the wind of Creations direction of evolving and meaning, the becoming of all things new, and One.
Most deserving poem chosen by Poem Hunter and Team as The Modern Poem Of The Day. TOP Marks! Mark Doty was struck by the elegance of the mackerel in a fish display while shopping. His poem explores individuality, grief, and the mystery of the common good.
Summed up: "A Display of Mackerel" invites us to appreciate the extraordinary within the ordinary, question the value of individuality, and consider the immortality found in uniformity. TFS
While unique individuals are "unduplicatable" and ultimately "doomed, " the fish gain eternal existence as part of the indistinguishable mass. Sacrificing individuality allows the fish to be part of a timeless whole.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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7/19/2025 3:35:15 PM # 1.0.0
I think Mark Doty's great. An heir to Marianne Moore in his precise use of language and eye for the visual detail. Never bombastic or tedious or pretentious. And no postmodern gibberish. He'll last.