upside down

There is a little black goldfish that I keep in a small tank. It's been swimming upside down for months, barely even moves at times. It looks sickly. I have to move my hand past the tank to check for signs of life. My sibings notice the everyday strain the fish goes through offer to kill the poor devil.

A lot of times this fish ignores it all, dives down deep to get pulled back up, lives his life in a small and empty tank - belly up and unnatural.

I talk to this thing and say look at us, pretending it's nothing and doing it all like it is normal. Operating with less than enough.