A collage poem of frequently asked questions from the NOAA Fisheries website (https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/faq/lobster-faq.html) and ArsenLob contributors.
How far do lobsters travel?
A. through a jagged fence
B. in too many different directions
C. Somewhere, lifetimes ago, a tree got his wish.
Do many young lobsters survive to old age?
A. replace my eyes with onions, slit into them
B. feed it to the pepper-mill. I cannot find another
C. It is easy, in darkness, to forget how long we’ll burn.
What Color is a lobster’s blood?
A. round face, green stick youth
B. burning desert
C. the smoky glass of the back window
Where are lobsters caught?
A. He was a whiz with gasoline
B. the barbs on the wire.
C. We pack them in like we’re burying a pharaoh
What do lobsters eat?
A. I dress that scab up nicely
B. wildflowers too thuggish for a border
C. goose on Michaelmas Day
Where do lobsters mate?
A. Thanks for the oranges and advice
B. You, picky Peter in the pond
C. This fire pit is not for burning witches.
Do lobsters lay eggs?
A. She sometimes catches them staring at her.
B. They think virginity is a multiple choice question
C. on the bank. My children. Watching.
Is it true that a dead lobster deteriorates very rapidly?
A. Subdued turquoise, she recalls. The glass hand, with a hole in the center.
B. We are loose in the cumulus
C. Meanwhile the tiny apartment breathed in and breathed out
Why does a lobster turn red when cooked?
A. ink, ink, ink
B. It rides the train when you ride the train.
C. they open their mouths and swallow
What happens when a live lobster is frozen?
A. he will have to build his own star
B. a woman shattered to nothing but cigarettes
C. I demand if you kill me, You take me outside of the town.
Please enjoy finding these Lobster bits and pieces among the poems of our final issue. It has been my pleasure to have served such a fine beast.
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Susan Yount
Editor & Publisher, Arsenic Lobster Poetry Journal
~ A message from the Editor