9 out of 10 Creatures in the Deep Sea Bioluminesce by Cam McGlynn

But all angels know the risk of shining too bright

9 out of 10 Creatures in the Deep Sea Bioluminesce

by Cam McGlynn

---

using that fallen angel's chemical,
luciferin. Some creatures make their shine 
through photosynthesis, then sink down 

to the abysmal depths, bringing a piece
of the sun with them. Some evolved that way,
and evolved that way, and evolved that way,

at least forty different times, each species 
learning that no one would come to burn 
a path ahead. They must make their own light

to survive. Still others discovered 
if they can't make luciferin themselves,
store-bought is just fine. They offer their own

flesh as a home for glowing bacteria.
Born dark and dim, they secrete pungent 
flavors for bacteria to sniff out,

then beat their cilia, sweeping in their light. 
But all angels know the risk of shining 
too bright. It does not do to attract 

the attention of those darkened shadows 
above. Those daytime creatures made of mud 
and clay, golems for their master's delight,

hate the twilight of tentacles 
waving just out of sight. Still, the hagfish 
and the gulper eels, the vampire squids 

and salps, nudibranchs and I, with my sharp 
teeth, lurking in the dark, vow to glow.
When I and my fellow angels fall,

sinking down into drifts of marine snow,
feast upon our flesh. Know that our bodies 
are broken for you. Take and eat. 

First published in Rust & Moth, 2025.