The Pet Octopus

While wandering on a local beach

Half buried in weed and sand,

The sparkle of something caught my eye

The shape of an old tin can.

I kicked it loose from entangling weed

And saw there was something within,

A colourful creature there indeed,

An octopus in a tin.

I thought it cute so I took it home

To put in the garden pond,

Then added salt for a briny mix

So it wouldn’t think to abscond.

It swam on out of the tin to feed

And seized on a goldfish there,

I said to Diane, ‘He has a need,’

While she just tore at her hair.

‘What were you thinking?’ Diane said,

‘It’ll eat all the fish we’ve got,’

‘They’re only a couple of bucks,’ I said,

‘I’ll get some more at the shop.’

He settled right in, our strangest pet,

And cost us to feed the least,

I said that I’d name the tinker, ‘Jet’,

Diane just called him ‘The Beast’.

He started to grow, outgrew his can,

So settled down in the depths,

He couldn’t be seen for thick pondweed,

Diane said,’It’s for the best.’

The dog would bark when The Beast came up,

Would stand there, wagging his tail.

We loved that dog, though barely a pup,

Then Diane began to wail.

‘It’s eaten the effing dog,’ she said,

Her language was more than coarse,

And Rin-Tin-Tin in the pond was skin,

She said, ‘Keep it away from my horse!’

I poked around in the pool for him

Just trying to make him rise,

He bit the end of my pole clean off,

He must have grown to a size.

She said I had to stop feeding him

But that only made it worse,

He looked for food, and he got the cat

As it chased a couple of birds.

Diane was walking down by the pond

When I suddenly heard her scream,

A tentacle wrapped around her leg

It looked like a nightmare scene.

I tried my best to peel it away

The octopus was too strong,

Diane went struggling over the edge

And fell right into the pond,

It took her down to the lower depths

And ate her, clean to the bone,

I tell this tale, so you won’t forget,

Don’t take an octopus home.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Barbz]

So funny.....laughed my way back to my teen years when my young suitors seemed to have so many tentacles. Your pen reminded me of what could have been. Just love the levity in this perfectly penned rhyme and meter, but how can I expect less from You!! Barbz