Prosaic Poppy 2005-2006

Merlin the Siamese Fighting Fish

Merlin is a bright aqua blue Siamese fighting fish with a fair temperament. His home is located near the-center-of-the-living room. Because of his location Merlin is witness to a myriad of activities.

At this time Merlin is preparing for a mate. He diligently creates a bubble nest every week to which the large ape that feeds him and changes his water destroys. Merlin is persistent though, and immediately after the demolition of one nest, he goes about building another one.

*At first, the large ape thought that something was wrong with Merlin to be creating the slimy bubble masses, but later the ape consulted the oracle of knowledge and learned that Merlin is indeed just a healthy male preparing for a lady friend.

Merlin recently almost had a name change. He didn’t protest at the prospect because he doesn’t actually understand the muffled sounds that come through the glass walls of his home and aquatic environment. He can only discern the degree of intensity from one noise to the next. Regardless, he really only cares that no matter what they call him, he is fed dried worms at least every other day. These are his favorite.

Merlin’s home is located on what is called a coffee table. This allows Merlin a good view of the television, which he refers to as the prismatic box of moving colors. Sometimes he is sure that his soul mate is in the moving box of colors, and her name is Xanadu. Thinking about this incites zealous bubble creating. Though she has not arrived, he has hope.

Merlin is often visited by the small and rather noisy monkey from time to time. This monkey, at first would put its hairless fingers in his home, and then the larger ape would come and rescue him.

He has decided that the larger ape, though destroying his bubble nest is the most trustworthy of all the apes. Therefore, when the large ape comes near his home, he swims around and comes to the surface to greet it.

The small noisy ape has recently taken to spitting in his home. He would not mind necessarily if the small ape would just spit worms. But alas it doesn’t and the interruptions have become bothersome. Thankfully the larger ape finally caught the small monkey in the act and perhaps this will stop as well.

Lastly, there is the four legged hairy wolf that lives with the apes and monkeys.

[He doesn’t know how many apes and monkeys surround his home because Merlin does not have fingers, nor does he understand numbers]

Merlin knows about the four legged wolf because there have been a few instances during the dark times that Merlin has fell asleep and woke up with a much smaller area in which to move around.

He suspected that it was the four legged hairy wolf that has taken part of his home somehow, because the water has a strange taste to it when he wakes up in the morning.

This was confirmed in the wee hours of the night when he woke up to a lapping sound and a snout invading his space. He hid in his bubble nest and prayed for daylight, or one of the apes to get up and scare the wolf away.

Merlin has a relatively sedate life, aside from these minor inconveniences of having his bubble nest destroyed, being spit at, and the wolf drinking his home. Why, right now he is languidly swimming around watching the apes and monkeys do whatever apes and monkeys do. The small noisy monkey is being particularly loud…maybe the larger ape will take it away, so that he can watch the prismatic box of moving colors in relative peace and dream of Xanadu.

posted by Kassi Gilbert @ 8:02 PM