25. Toothfish: Sabotage

At night, he grows: the pale green glowworm
of the sea, the mutant bass
from Mars.  His bulk abrades the glass
and when he shifts, the shockwaves flow from
tank to table, rise and ripple
til the beams and floorboards wiggle.
Her mother begs her: please forget
your fish.  Adopt some normal pet:
a bonsai tree? a snail? a puppy?
Her father, more proactive, hires
a mobster who, with sheaves and wires,
slyly garottes the goofed-up guppy.
He claims the fish has gone to romp
the hills.  He throws it in the swamp.