Commentary on (love song, with two goldfish)".

Moving on, the male fish fantasizes of a free life with his mate. In his description he is “bowled over”, overwhelmed by the emotions he feels for her and lives an illusion where they would “count the waves” and “dive for pearls like stars”. These phrases are extremely striking and remind the reader of romantic activities that they would share with their loved ones, emphasizing the male’s desire for an emotional connection with her to share “their deepest secrets” in the “submarine silence”. The simile, “pearls like stars” remind the reader of expensive jewels, particularly a wedding ring which signifies that the male is looking forward to a commitment of spending his life with the female. In this stanza the male fish is blinded with love and he romanticizes their relationship.

However, the male fish is devastated when he fathoms that she does not love him and that her love has “gone belly-up”, floating like a dead fish. The allusion to death may also illustrate that the male fish feels that his heart is dying like her love for him did which leaves him crestfallen giving the stanza a dejected tone. Moreover, Chua inverts two common similes, “sinks like a stone” and “drinks like a fish” changing them to “sinks like a fish” and “drinks like a stone” to bring out the male fish’s confusion and how he feels that his world has been turned upside down. “His heart sinks” emphasizes that he has lost all hope and that the harsh reality of the situation has left him mortified. On top of that, “he drinks” alcohol and “drowns those sorrows” to suppress his desolation. In context, the reader is able to infer that he drank quantities so large that he is able to swim in them. Lastly, Chua ends the stanza with the phrase, “stares emptily through glass” and uses a pun on the word, “glass” again referring to a glass of alcohol or to the physical barrier of the fish bowl that surrounds the fish. The word “emptily” also reiterates the void that has been created in the male fish’s life as his love leaves him with nothing but sorrow. The feeling of unrequited love that has been portrayed in this stanza can also be related to real life amongst people. It talks about the depression faced by one when love or passion is one-sided.

Finally, the last stanza talks about why the female fish rejected the advances of the male fish and why she was not attracted to him anymore. It is evident that though he loved her fervently “he could not give” what “she wanted” and was unable to provide her what she needed, she desired being free that the male was incapable of giving, making a relationship between them impossible This is also an ordinary development in the lives of men and women as well, which holds them back from forming a relationship that lasts.

Interestingly, the structure of the last stanza differs from the rest of the poem as it has three parentheses as opposed to one, with a line outside them. “A life beyond” is not encompassed in parentheses which symbolizes that the female fish too aspires a life outside the “(bowl)”. The use of parentheses in this poem could be a literary depiction of a fish bowl that confines the two fish. The difference in the structure of the final stanza could suggest that the two fish were separated due to their confinement in this enclosed area and that it acted like a wall between them. It could imply that when one does not give space to their partner it might result in fights or tension. Furthermore, the size of the last stanza in comparison to the others is much smaller, cramped and restricted which reflects the life of the fish in a bowl.

In conclusion, (love song, with two goldfish) is a poem about unrequited love narrated with the help of goldfish which has been made humorous with the use of puns and fish imagery. Although the poem has serious underlying issues, it is very lighthearted and hence delightful to read.