This poem came out of the November 21, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from bairnsidhe . It also fills the "fish" square in my 7-1-17 card for the Winter Fest in July Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles and Cody. It belongs to the series Feathered Nests, which you can find via my Serial Poetry page. "A Lot More Respect for a Bird" Commander Quillon Hale, Commander Andreas Tyre, Ensign Julian Obert, Lieutenant Risa Martina, and Lieutenant Carilla Rodriga applied for family quarters. The captain glared at them over the paperwork, but at least he approved it. The ship wasn't used to having five people move all at the same time and all into the same quarters. They managed, though, with a minimum of fuss, except that Quillon was nowhere to be found which left Andreas and Carilla to do most of the heavy lifting. When Andreas and Julian went to check Quillon's room, they discovered all of his belongings packed neatly into boxes, so they shrugged and carried them home. Risa and Carilla bustled about hanging photos of Fifers and a few pieces of native art on the walls of the living room. Andreas flopped down on the couch and declared, "I have a lot more respect for a bird now that I have tried making a nest." The door chimed, then opened to reveal Quillon. "Where have you been all this time?" Carilla snapped, glaring at their errant husband. "... getting the fish?" he said in a baffled tone. "All the alephs insisted that this was traditional." Everyone stared at the string of dripping fish. "We're having Filetes de Pescado for supper!" Risa crowed. She grabbed the fish from him and then scampered into the galley. "Works for me," everyone agreed, and followed her to offer their help. * * * Notes: "You'll have a lot more respect for a bird after you try making a nest." -- Cynthia Lewis Filetes de Pescado is a Mexican dish featuring fish in spicy sauce. It literally means "fillets of fish."