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WHINE OF THE MEDUSOZOA
I belong to a bloom of jellies,
we've adapted to the tidal flux,
you'd think after 500 million years
we'd have brains...no such luck.
No brains, no eyes*, no stomach, no lungs,
just a floating gelatinous blob.
We drift with the current eating plankton and such,
hunting passively...a boring job.
I'll never see mountains or prairies or sky,
never walk on dry land with real legs,
never soar with a butterfly, bluebird or hawk,
never sing...my life is the dregs.
©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015
*"Certain species of jellyfish, such as the box jellyfish, have been revealed to have more advanced vision than their counterparts. The box jellyfish has 24 eyes, two of which are capable of seeing color, and four parallel information processing areas or rhopalia that act in competition, supposedly making it one of the few creatures to have a 360-degree view of its environment." --from Wikipedia
Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.
Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month.
Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!
Kay share's a reader's dejection.
Steve, at inside the dog, is sharing his poems
in the comments at Poetrepository.
Heidi, at my juicy little universe, will join us when she can.
Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.
Check the comments at A Year of Reading or Poetrepository for her poems.
Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,
leaving poetry trax in the comments.
Jone, at DeoWriter, is doing a "double L" challenge.
She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible.
Laura has the Poetry Friday roundup today at
Writing the World for Kids
Writing the World for Kids
.
Once again, I am amazed at how you combine the two challenges. And I learned something about jellyfish--actually a lot since most of what I knew about jellyfish comes from trying not to step on them as I walk down the beach.
ReplyDeleteMy poem today is Missing Pages
Oh dear, that jellyfish does sound ejected. I love the movement from the kind of expected disappointments to not getting to sing!
ReplyDeleteSo many details here. I really wanted to use the word medusa/medusae/ And I learned in my research that Man O'Wars are not really jellyfish.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is both educational and wonderful. I laughed upon reading the last line of the first stanza. I could actually imagine the jellyfish in all its blob-iness saying this. Lovely poem and very enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteLove how you seamlessly wove all those facts into a fun poem. The persona you created with that little touch of humor drew me in.
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday to you and the jellyfish!
ReplyDeleteYou are so clever! And this is so funny! And so scientific! What a great mentor text this will be!
ReplyDeletePretending I'm Douglas Florian today, playing with repeated sounds.
"middle school lunchroom"
(a play in many acts)
location, mastication, relaxation
motion, devotion, self-promotion
action, reaction, interaction
proclamation, exclamation, interjection
cooperation, collaboration, affiliation
vexation, botheration, eruption
evaluation, sanction,
abomination, isolation
affection
rejection
dejection
middle school lunchroom
(C) Carol Wilcox, 2015
Well done with including so many facts. I love seeing jellyfish in aquariums, but not in the open ocean. Poor thing, now bored. I'm amazed at their evolution.
ReplyDeleteDejected, for sure. So well done. And I love Carol's Middle School Lunchroom!
ReplyDeleteI was totally cracking myself up with a jellyfish who had no brain and yet knew enough to be sad about all those things in the last stanza...HOW?!?! :-)
ReplyDeleteFor a poem about dejection, there sure are a lot of beautiful images here. Nice work, Mary Lee!
ReplyDeleteAw, that last stanza is so beautifully depressing! And your above comment about no brain but knowing to be sad gave me a good laugh:>)
ReplyDeleteThat poor dejected jelly fish, Mary Lee! You've captured his plight perfectly. I especially like the lines:
ReplyDelete"you'd think after 500 million years
we'd have brains...no such luck."