to my goldfish, passed in the night

Swim on, dear fishie
in the ocean of my heart,
swim on forever

Story of Sam, the Fish

Young Ben surveyed his tank of fish;
thought to himself: "Just one more."
So anxious was he to fulfill his wish,
he set right off to the fish pet store.

A silvery-black goldfish, fins a-flowing,
was the one that captured his heart.
Beneath the tank light, scales a-glowing,
he was a dishy fishie work of art.

Samuel L. Jackson: the name he was given,
black he was like the movie star.
But all too soon, Sam's fins were riven
in bichir Jack's playful war.

Now these attacks were surely rude,
but Sam seemed OK, until one day
his swimming was a bit unglued.
For one of the fish had ripped an eye away!

"Boy!" said Ben. "Was it Merlin, the koi?"
He watched and worried and wondered.
"What's next for poor Sam? First his eye, then his face?"
So from the tank our Sam was sundered,
and moved to a roomy vase.

But oh, to Sam, this was NOT a nice place!
Was this his new home? It felt like a tomb!
He stayed very still at the bottom of the vase,
hours on end, steeped in gloom.

Ben wondered if this was a lengthy nap
or even if Sam was alive.
On the vase he'd tap and tap,
and saw that it was not a place
where his dear Sam could swim and thrive.

So back in the tank went one-eyed Sam
and he was a happy fish again!
This was the life! He swam and swam,
as close by, hovered watchful Ben.

A few days later, just his luck,
Sam lost the other eye.
Some would say tragedy struck,
but he was an accepting kind of guy.

A student of Zen he must have been,
he really seemed just fine,
his spirit strong though his eyes were gone.
But there was a mouth he'd wander in,
a head he'd sit upon,
and on his tempting, flowing fins
the bichir Jack would dine.

And finally Ben understood
a lesson grim and stern:
however much he loved his Sam,
the situation wasn't good
and Jack would never learn.

Ben's friend Jen had two fish,
she wanted just one more
and felt that she could hardly wait.
Thus Ms. Jen received her wish,
and Sam escaped the tender fate
of going back to the fish pet store.

Bobby was orange, Lorelei was white:
his new tank mates,
swimming up against him in a friendly way.
They deemed that Sam was quite all right,
and he thought they were super-great
as they welcomed him that day.

Ms. Jen liked to please,
she had a friendly face,
she fed them well, with lots of peas -
it was a peas-ful place.

Jen liked it that Sam was black --
"Looks nice with Bobby and Lorelei."
In time his gorgeous fins grew back
but he remained a humble guy
living a simple life,
free of bites and nips and strife,
swimming and playing with his friends
and the bubbles,
forgetting all his former troubles!