WE  POND FISH are Comets and Shubunkins. Originally, generations ago, we were three Comets and three Shubunkins. Now we are a mixture of the two.

Princess Aurora ruled over us for a long time after our original leader Dawn passed away to the Shining Waters. Both Dawn and Princess Aurora were pale fish with golden lights on their scales when they caught the sunlight. When Princess Aurora passed away to the Shining Waters in August 2017, we became a Republic. Our leader is elected and changes from time to time. Most of The Pond Fish are now orange fish, but some are pale and others parti-coloured in white and orange or orange and black. One of our number has camouflage so can hardly be seen in the depths of the water.

We are an intelligent lot and know when we are about to be fed. We sometimes come up to stare at the Food Bearer when she leans over The Pond. She is an Earth Creature, like The Cat, who stalks around the edge of The Pond.

Our oldest member Streak, a Comet, passed on at eighteen or nineteen years old. We think she was one of the original Pond Fish, who came here through the sky in a PLASTIC BAG. This is how fish travel from the AQUARIUM to the POND. Only one lot of our ancestors came to The Pond and we have stayed ever since.

In the heat of the day we rest underneath our rocky shelves and our waterlily leaves.

Our poem of mourning for Princess Aurora was published in the poetry magazine The Mozzie in 2020

Aubade for a Goldfish

For she who now swims
through the endless shining waters

We mourn
our hearts diminished.
Swimming deep

we bathe in the shadows of the lily
we dive through the sparkle
of the fountain water

She dwells in our memories
her scales iridescent opals
pearl drops in the moonlight

Seaweeds stroke her softly
as she lingers in the eddies
at the shores of her departure

We brush her with our fins
guide her through the currents
to the spirits of our ancestors

as they pass in mighty shoals
through the loops of time
the days and nights

forever

Lynette Arden on behalf of The Pond Fish