Synonyms

In the corner of the moment,
There is and isn’t history.
Six people, from teens to sixties,

Have momentarily gathered
Around a just-purchased pair
Of pet fish—pink beta, small cat—

And they don’t know each other well,
Or they know each other better than
Anyone else in the whole world,

Depending on which pair-wise match
You choose, but right now they’re cooing
And laughing over the small fish,

As if there’s nothing else to share
But being human all at once
In the amber light of evening.