Unlikely Ocean Travelers

Behind the coral reef he shrank
A seven legged octopus called Frank
Nature with capricious fate
Decided not to give him eight

His mother sweet ,his father gruff
“Don’t worry son, seven’s enough”
Teased at school and though he’d try
To play with fellow octopi
His missing leg was met with scorn
And left him ostracized, withdrawn

Stage left, a pulsating, translucent creature
Graceful cephalo-pod like feature
A billowing skirt and thrusting propulsion
Thin tentacles trailing with each expulsion

“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”

“Are you a jj-jellyfish ?”, Frank stammered
Surprised at such a forthright manner
In his face and poorly grammared
But not without a touch of glamor
What could this distant cousin need
Surely not just aquatic weed

“My name is Greta”, she calmly said
Observing Frank and his missing leg
“I’m short on knowledge and overall wisdom
For we lack a central nervous system
It’s hard to learn and educate
And plan, and travel, and navigate”

“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”

Duly rested and hidden from prey
Greta prepared to go on her way
Frank with his brain and synaptic finery
Greta all impulses, type A and binary

As the jellyfish pulsed away from the scene
Frank decided to intervene
“My shyness may be what nature intends
But I wonder if we could become good friends?”
Frank asked, not knowing how this journey ends
Or just how much Greta comprehends

“With me, a jellyfish!”, Greta said with surprise
“I may not have the sharpest eyes
But I can see a kindred spirit
Let’s have an adventure and not waste a minute!”
And off they swam into the vast blue ocean
With rhythmical, graceful, complementary motion