Jersey Barnegat, Sport, sat fishing on the shore.
The sea’s language reeled beautiful words to his head,
“Mahi, mahi, mahi.”
Dewy, summer air sailed around the broken, overcast day,
and he slipped into sleep.

Only then was something caught on his hook.
His rod leapt from his hold, thrashing towards the foul crag.
Barnegat scrambled for the rod, coveting for his catch:
What kind of sea monster did he have on the line?
Would his trophy be a shark? A whale?

But his eyes caught something more majestic than a monster-
More foul to a man’s work-
A fiberglass replica of Neptune’s own serial killer-
Surfacing from the water was a beautiful human with humble bottle-green eyes,
slip-sliding and skidding on the ghostly rocks.

Barnegat went slacked-jawed.
He was filled with the awkward feeling of agonizing love.
He released her from the hook and she took his blistered hand.
Barnegat’s hunt for the perfect trophy died.
The deep-ocean is filled with other wonders,
but Barnegat caught his bucket-list catch and deemed himself King of the Sea.

Together always,
Jersey Barnegat and his Sea Doll.