Eels
![Freshwater Eels](https://coffeehousewriters.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/eel-ga222766ea_640-640x400.jpg)
Ebony shadows gather in darkness
Most by swimming, some by walking
Gulping snakes slippery and soft
Wriggling fingers freed from hands
Disgustingly mysterious, fascinatingly stomach-churning
Creatures seen, but never unseen
Brought to light through no fault of their own
Squirming their way into our thoughts
The paths they face come from human minds
Revulsion, curiosity, fascination, then obsession
The creatures of nightmares open dreams
And embody the principles of controversy
All of this from a delicacy, a pest, a source of income,
A revered figure, a medicinal cure, a monster, a mystery,
The unusual eel.