NAPOWRIMO #23

Found sticker art, affixed to a newspaper box, Puyallup WA.

Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Prompt #23 - Unlikely Couples

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AHAB at the AQUARIUM

Falsehood seemed to follow in the wake of his fervency
yet we were blinded by his believer's faith

hypnotized by the gold doubloon winding
through his weathered fingers.

His application: impeccable.
His references: deceased yet plausible.

His inaugural day: ostentatious and flagrant
his language peppered with Elizabethan epithets

and King James biblical curses
accompanied by the dancing arms of a carnival barker.

He strayed from his station, strayed from the script
wandered about eating fish and chips, licking his fingers

leaning in toward the glass of each tank
as though waiting for a missive from the briny deeps.

We called the authorities
when he climbed into the tank of our star attraction

Fantasma the Albino North Pacific Giant Octopus
and began to wrestle her, clubbing her with his ivory leg.