Those northern salvelinus mate only on stormy autumn nights low in the liquid layers like black glass the male rubs the rocks clean to lure the female in the glistening dark and I dream of it the white shaft of lightening a moon and fast clouds his irridescent scales the elegant caudal fin she fans as she waits the way they half-sink together instinct and ecstasy in that cold place below and apart from the world of human desire surfacing through sleep.