Feeding Frenzy


from the ABC set Observations of the Sixth Form College

There is a feeding frenzy
When Laura dishes out a serving
Of some flaky plant food
To the last fish in the geology tank

It is plausible that they had not been feed in weeks
The tank has certainly not been cleaned in an age
For there are long, thick, slimy looking fingers of weed
Curling around the rocks and corners

Even the Kraken, my beloved brittle-star friend
Dragged himself out on his tentacles from under his rock
At lightening speed when Laura tipped a few pinches of meal
Into their creepy watery world

You could see the blue and silver fish
Regurgitating the hastily swallowed flakes
Before they gobbled them back down
We noticed that they too were getting spiky

The legendary algae that is growing on the glass
Appears to be purple now
If you look at in certain lights
Most of the fish are obscured by it

One wonders for how long
They had not been fed
Because the flurry to eat the food
Was such a maniac spectacle

Sir has said that the caretakers never look after the fish
And from experience the others teachers are as ignorant
To the hunger of the disappearing Pisces
One has already died, poor Bubbles

How many more will
Before there is constant maintenance?

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