The Hendy Archive

Poetry

Verses from the margins of a life

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Poem One — 2024

Unlikely Ocean
Travelers

whimsy · ocean · friendship · young reader

Jellyfish illustration

I

Behind the coral reef he shrankA seven legged octopus called FrankNature with capricious fateDecided not to give him eight

II

His mother sweet, his father gruff"Don't worry son, seven's enough"Teased at school and though he'd tryTo play with fellow octopiHis missing leg was met with scornAnd left him ostracized, withdrawn

III

Stage left, a pulsating, translucent creatureGraceful cephalo-pod like featureA billowing skirt and thrusting propulsionThin tentacles trailing with each expulsion

IV

"Hello, I wonder if you could help,Directions to the nearest kelp?""I've travelled on the ocean far,I need some food and R and R"

V

"Are you a jj-jellyfish?", Frank stammeredSurprised at such a forthright mannerIn his face and poorly grammaredBut not without a touch of glamorWhat could this distant cousin needSurely not just aquatic weed

VI

"My name is Greta", she calmly saidObserving Frank and his missing leg"I'm short on knowledge and overall wisdomFor we lack a central nervous systemIt's hard to learn and educateAnd plan, and travel, and navigate"

VII

"Oh," asked Frank, "and how's your sight?"To gain a measure of the jellyfish plight"Blurry, but used for detecting light,"Replied Greta, "see, it's almost night""Follow me", Frank said and took the lead"I'll take you to the best seaweed"

VIII

Duly rested and hidden from preyGreta prepared to go on her wayFrank with his brain and synaptic fineryGreta all impulses, type A and binary

IX

As the jellyfish pulsed away from the sceneFrank decided to intervene"My shyness may be what nature intendsBut I wonder if we could become good friends?"Frank asked, not knowing how this journey endsOr just how much Greta comprehends

X

"With me, a jellyfish!", Greta said with surprise"I may not have the sharpest eyesBut I can see a kindred spiritLet's have an adventure and not waste a minute!"And off they swam into the vast blue oceanWith rhythmical, graceful, complementary motion
octopusjellyfishfriendshipoceanwhimsy

Poem Two — 2024

Snapping
Turtle

whimsy · rap · identity · self-determination

Snapping Turtle

I

Hey y'all, I'm a turtle meant for snappingI grew up in the hood, where it's happening, I learned rappingIn the water I'm shy, won't even try, to look you in the eyeOn land I'm aggressive and looking for food, I'm always rude, in a bad mood

II

My reputation precedes me, decrees me, guarantees me respectBut I won't be defined, maligned or undermined, act unrefinedBy anyone's expectations, let them project manifestations,Of what a snapping turtle should be, I will define my destiny

III

I have dreams and desire, ambitions before I retireI don't have that turtle wrath, I'm not cut from the same clothMy genes program the means by which my proteinsAre synthesized, realized, assembled like an archetype, phenotype

IV

But that's where the story ends, you see, I'm bright, erudite, curious not furiousDiscerning and yearning for educationOf course I gotta eat, it might be meat, or leaves and fruit, but the rootOf my drive, is not a will to survive it's for meaning, relation, self-actualization

V

My neighborhood's muddy, but I choose to study, not bloodyOther creatures for sport, or fight, where might makes right,For with growing confidence,I can afford that the pen is mightier than the sword

VI

For not following the horde, inner peace is my rewardWhat's right, is not always black and whiteTwo sides to a story, no glory, in taking down the other side,Just to hide behind your tribe, to take part in their ritual,We are all individual, seek the high road not the habitual

VII

I'm a turtle, I get quizzical looks, but I'm getting back to my booksKnowledge is the power, to sort the wheat from the chaff,The truth from a cheap laugh, the authentic from the riff raff,Be the master of your dominion, form your own opinion

VIII

I'm not striving for fame, or the biggest brain, for art and rings and material thingsI'm not immortal, life is tortile, peaks and troughs, trade-offs,But my mind is yearning, burning, still fertileFor learning, so on my last day, I can say, I was a worthy snapping turtle
rapturtleidentityself-determinationlife