Ode to a Jellyfish
by Elisabeth Pruitt
Gliding through the murky depths,
Translucent balloons of languorous pulsing protoplasm,
Meandering in quest of minute, floating plankton,
Graceful jellyfish wend their way
Through the eternal ballet of the sea,
Choreographed by the moon and tides.
How I envy your serenity -
Always able to accommodate the infinite rhythms
Of life and death,
Without anxiety, without depressions, without stress;
To live in harmony with your environment,
Regardless of all tomorrows,
Accepting each day for whatever it might be,
Free of avarice, thwarted ambitions, vague troubling desires -
Oh gentle jellyfish,
Your deceptively simple form may
Hold the answers we desperate creatures
Of the overly developed brains have
Somehow forgotten along the way.
We could learn so much from you and the
Legions of your aquatic brethren;
Perhaps you can help us remember
The essential art of being,
The uncomplicated pleasure of drifting,
The simple joy of being alive.
{ september or october, 1994 }
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