from in here

if i weren't wandering along
the route they set for you in these places
i would be doing it aimlessly
sort of listlessly, imaginably
watching myself as a turtle from one of these
huge columns of fish i keep passing

it's incredibly easy to feel
well earned solitude
here in the blue light, dark walls
with animals who don't give one
who or what
is on the other side of the glass
though surely
they'd fancy a where

the anemones are my favourites
in an open tank  
you can touch them
watch their tentacles wave in uniform
each at their post
and my conscience isn't so edgy
knowing they're not pining
for another rock hundreds of miles away

i think they think peoples' fingers
are food for a second
so they reach and stick a little bit
taste ya and figure out
nah, just another tease
hundred 'n' fifty of those every day -
but it amazes me
how eagerly they still hope
guess they get fed eventually

the small swimmers
don't seem to bother about their quarters
long as they have their tunnels
and caves and hidey holes

but the big ones look to me
like butterflies
crammed into a jam jar
with a stick
and a leaf
when they have built in instinct
for long distance
traveling the most mysterious
unexplored pieces of our planet

maybe it was their stars
just where they were born
or they fell behind
made the mistake of being weak
in that world of teeth vs. camouflage
to get caught
and brought
to this giant jar of undersea wonders
where we can luxuriously gawk
clock and analyze everything they do

i always try to hope
for their sake
they really love the stick