What I like to do when I’m bored is float.
Like an iceberg, with most of me under the surface,
And only the top of my head sticking out,
Near a ship, and just wait for the sailors to notice
At first they’re suprised and uneasy to learn
That they must be off course, though they can’t think why
And just as they’re all getting really concerned
I wait till they’re watching, and open my eye.
What a paradigm shift! What a change in perspective!
The “island” they saw is a part of my head!
It’s easy to do, but extremely effective
Though sometimes I do something else instead:
I wait till it’s dark, and they’re most of them sleeping,
With one left behind keeping watch in the night
Then I swim underneath, send my tentacles creeping
Around the whole ship, just to give him a fright
Soon the whole crew’s awake, since there’s somebody screaming
Of tentacles, each one as tall as a tree!
And they curse him and tell him he must have been dreaming
About some huge monster that no-one can see.
So I’ll wait a few days, till they’ve nearly forgotten
Then rise up and let them all get a good view!
They go crazy with fright (Oh I know, aren’t I rotten!)
It keeps me amused though. It’s something to do.
Now, though some might say that my empathy’s lackin’
I’m helping by scaring them out of their skin:
They get stories to tell of the terrible kraken
They fought off so bravely! It’s really win-win!
Tom Juniper Poetry 