Jellyfish of the Island of Palau

Lillian Kwok
· in ,

Once we were sea monsters, once we were sirens. We electrocuted whole boats, sucked the flesh off the still-living. We were a Force to be Reckoned With. Until a wayward wind blew us into this cove, tumbled us to the middle of the island where for a million years no one hunted us. Our fangs fell out and our scales, our claws. We lost our voices, lost our poison. We became harmless, bouncing in this inland lake like the laughing heads of babies. If we could we ́d open our mouths and scream to you that once we were monsters, we were sirens, we were the terror of the open seas.

Lillian Kwok is originally from Philadelphia and now lives and studies in Sweden. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Hawaii Pacific Review, Off the Coast, burntdistrict and other journals. She holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts.