Almost exactly a year ago to the day my husband brought Mr. Odie home to live with us. He has been one of the best pets ever... considering he's a fish. For one, he hasn't died yet. In terms of our experiences with fish, he's a centenarian. Hell, he's freakin' Yoda.The kids really wanted a kitten, in fact, Sidney had launched a full-blown campaign to persuade her father that our family was sadly incomplete without a pet. When Christian brought Mr. Odie home the children were enthusiastic (even Sidney, who declared this "was not what she meant by a pet"), especially since Mr. Odie was a Betta Fish. Up until then, we'd only welcomed standard Tetras and Mollies into our tank. They were fun to have around for the week or so they managed to stay alive. Betta fish are apparently much heartier creatures. In addition, Mr. Odie has real personality. He comes right to the glass when you peer into his tank. And they say a Betta Fish is as playful as a dolphin. If you drop a ping pong ball onto the surface of the water, a Betta Fish will push it around the tank with his nose. Although, if Mr. Odie can perform this trick, he's keeping it a secret from us.
In honor of Mr. Odies's annivarsary, I'd like to share a poem I wrote last year prior to his arrival.
You see, the fish tank occupies what I consider valuable real estate in the kitchen. It's located on a stretch of wall between the end of the countertop and the table -- a space where I have always envisioned a bulky, rustic sideboard-like piece of furniture where I could store table linens and the overflow of dinner ware. There was almost a year between the passing of the last fish and Mr. Odie's arrival. During that time, the fish tank was empty. I wanted it dismantled and moved to the garage, but Christian liked the look of an aquarium and enjoyed the percolating sound of water through the filter. So it stayed. Empty.
I'd planned on framing the following poem and hanging it above the vacant tank, as a passive-aggressive jab at my husband's stubbornness. Before I got the chance, he brought the Betta home. Mr. Odie, this one's for you!
The Empty Fish Tank
By Nicole Ducleroir
Giggling water gurgles
from a guppy's ghost town tank
It sits fishless in my kitchen;
Stubborn husband I have to thank.
He'd see the stretch of wall undressed
should the vacant tank disappear;
That the spot would sport a buffet
is ignored by his id austere.
The battle of mismatched iron wills
rages on the silent front line.
I'll bide my time, but once I find
that perfect piece....
The space is MINE.
By Nicole Ducleroir
Giggling water gurgles
from a guppy's ghost town tank
It sits fishless in my kitchen;
Stubborn husband I have to thank.
He'd see the stretch of wall undressed
should the vacant tank disappear;
That the spot would sport a buffet
is ignored by his id austere.
The battle of mismatched iron wills
rages on the silent front line.
I'll bide my time, but once I find
that perfect piece....
The space is MINE.
13 comments:
I like your poem, but actually wanted to comment because I just noticed something... Your 100th follower came courtesy of my Ducks Out Of A Row blog! (I had mentioned your "100 followers" contest in my last post)
Just saw that and thought it was kind of cool.
Perfect poem, perfect. My mother had a betta fish, Humphrey, who lived on the back of the toilet for 7 years. I kid you not. He was so cool, as soon as you walked into the bathroom he would race to the glass and say hello. While you were in the bathroom he would swim circles and do little hide and seek games among the plant roots. He had no ordinary tank, it was a large glass bowl with a few houseplants that could live in water. He was the coolest fish I ever knew.
Haha, I love that, especially the last line. And I can totally sympathize with Sidney, being a huge animal lover with nothing to love (hence my obsession with my bird feeder)--a fish has kept me company many a year! I had a 25 cent goldfish that grew to be about 3 inches and lived 8 years. He was beautiful, and I bawled my eyes out when he died.
awww happy anniversary Odie!
I'm a bit sad because our snail, Citizen Slugs, died unexpectedly after almost 6 months of life.
Sigh
Great poem. And I think it's a miracle that a fish hasn't died yet. I could never get mine to last more than a few months. :)
Beautiful words, great poem!
Aww... love that poem. Yay for Odie. Fish don't like me,except one time I won this gold fish at a carnival and he lived for like ten years... almost unheard of for a carnival prize. ; )
LOVE the poem and LOVE your passive-aggressive plan! Hahaha! :D
We have a betta fish...he lives in a glass vase. We've had him for 2 years and he's still swimming. When changing his water I've dropped him onto my kitchen counter more than once, and slide him across and off the edge, back into the vase. He's indestructible. I love him. He makes me silly happy.
Cute post.
Great post, great poem. :) They both made me smile. And Happy Anniversay to Odie.
A year? Yoda indeed. We always joked that having fish was a great way for our kids to learn about the end of the life cycle :) Poor things.
Fabulous poem! Happy anniversary, Mr. Odie!
Love the poem! :) I have a betta named Rage on my kitchen counter. I have to say, I've a bunch of other fish in a bigger tank, but Rage is by far the coolest. :) Thanks for sharing the poem!! Happy anniversary, Mr. Odie!
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