A Salmon's Tale of Painted Scales

I made a cartoon about my salmon. It’s a story I know all too well, but I think it’s one we’re all familiar with—so I wanted to share. (A quick note: most fish swim downstream, together in schools. Salmon’s lives are fascinating because they do the opposite, they swim upstream, against the current, not in a school but (more) alone, all the way back to the river where they were born. And as they make that journey, they turn that beautiful orange color that you think of when you eat them, not from the outside, but from within)

There once was a salmon who lived in the sea,
Surrounded by other orange fishies.

They all seemed to blissfully flow—
Down with the stream they just go and go and go.

No pushing back against the flow,
No wandering the journey alone.

Their orange skin seemed so bright and beautiful,
Compared to his gray, not quite so colorful.

And they all seemed so playfully happy,
Surrounded by good company— Never looked sad or ever lonely.

The salmon spotted a “treasure” out of his left eye
A rusty old bucket with some orange paint dripping off the side
“Yalla, lets go see whats inside”

It was the exact treasure the salmon was searching for
This painful and grey life no more

So he dove right in, in a glimpse of a second
He held his breathe and went head in

If he could finally be orange his life could be so great
No longer have to worry about his fate

He could finally live like the others do
How could he resist that bright orange hue

He could finally be
Happy and carefree
With only ease and certainty

And off to the races he goes!
With his new orange skin glow

Smiling bright, Looking ahead
Hopeful he’ll never look back with dread

His skin is orange, he’s blazing ahead
For what more could he possibly beg?

Nothing more he could lack
Finally one with the pack

As they all joyfully play around
The salmon starts to feel left out

Not because the other fish made him feel this way
But because something inside of him feel all weird and gray

And it wasn’t just because his orange began to fade
He felt empty, out of place, like a mistake was made

He felt something missing
Something that wasn’t actually fixed by chasing

Everyone else seemed happy
Everyone else seemed okay
All the orange fish seemed to have found their way

He finally let himself look back
As scary as it was to admit he might not be on track

yeah his skin was now bright
And life didn’t seem to come with as much fight

But he was Surrounded by others, yet still felt alone
He felt empty—this path wasn’t his own

Up the stream, full of lost dreams
that’s where his heart gleamed

So he listened to his heart
On a new journey he would start

Orange fading away bit by bit
He’s a salmon, that his true gift

He was hesitant and scared
Completely unaware

Of what this journey would entail
But he knew what it would not: and that was betrayal

he’d rather struggle and feel pain
than feel emptiness with no gain

Finally he reached the waterfall
The one he once feared he’d never reach at all

It was a long and hard journey
But that thing he was so badly yearning

Actually started to glow within
That orange had always been

Waiting inside,
for him to realize

He held his breath once again
Just like that time before,

when he tried to color his fins
but this, time with eyes wide open

Because he wasn’t trying to erase himself or shrink
This time he was finally in sync

Proud of his journey because it was intentional and true
not built from the shame and pain that he once grew

He leapt to the top and finally made it,
His leap of faith was so worth it.

While the journey was lonely,
He was able to love himself wholly.

And after it all, there were two little salmon
—just like him.

They may not be large in numbers, but that’s okay,
Because he learned something true along the way:

You can swim with a crowd and still be alone
If the self that you’re swimming with isn’t your own.

But if you have yourself—truly, fully known—
You’ll never be all alone.

Before they made their journey into the sea,
He had one important plea—

The truth that brought him this far,
No matter the scars:
“Don’t forget who you are.”