UNIPUS
By Taylor James Johnson
I’ve got a story,
a story just for you.
It takes place in what I like to call,
the ocean blue.
Deep down underneath
this beautiful sea
live creatures who are special,
just like you and me
Ever heard of an octopus before?
They are wonderful animals.
Would you like to know more?
If you count their tentacles,
you will get the number eight.
Such a glorious species!
Aren’t they great?
Now it is time to introduce you to the octopus family.
Meet the brothers, the sisters,
Mama and Daddy.
But this family has a dark horrible secret.
I will tell you if you promise to keep it.
There is another family member
who brings them much shame.
He only has one tentacle,
and Unipus is his name.
All of the other sea creatures would make fun of him.
“Where are the other seven?”
“How can he even swim?”
Comments like this would crush his poor soul.
All of his sadness was hard to control.
He would cry all night
and sob all day.
“Why oh why, did God make me this way?”
But Unipus knew his life had a purpose.
So he went to see his only friend,
The Hairy Porpoise.
Every inch of this dolphin was covered with hair,
but he kept his head up
because he did not care.
He always had a smile on his happy dolphin face,
and knew that being different was not a disgrace.
But Unipus wasn’t sure about the words he would speak.
Poor Unipus still felt like an oceanic freak.
“Go see Poseidon!”,
said his hairy dolphin friend.
“He will grant you one wish and put your sorrows to an end.”
So, Unipus took off on an epic quest
to see Poseidon and wish to be like the rest.
“Oh Poseidon, oh Poseidon! Please make me like the other octopi!”
But the sea god just smiled
and simply asked “Why?”
“Because I am different. I am a freak.
I want to fit in.
Please o’ mighty Poseidon, put my misery to an end!”
“Some changes are good and some are not.
Now leave here, Unipus, so we can move along with the plot.”
So, Unipus swam far far away.
Not listening to a single word
Poseidon had to say.
He swam and swam.
He swam really fast.
Still feeling like nothing
but an octopus outcast.
What good was Unipus’ physical disability?
At least Rudolph’s red nose
helped Santa see.
If only there was something Unipus could do.
Then he looked up and saw a lot of black goo.
Unipus wasn’t sure how this made him feel,
then he realized it was an oil spill!
“Oh no! It is headed straight for the creatures of the sea!!
I must warn them,
even though they were mean to me.”
“Swim! Swim! Swim away!
Oil is coming and it will ruin your day!”
He waved his one tentacle to and fro.
He waved it so that everyone would know…
…that danger is here and they must leave this place.
For the first time ever
a smile grew on Unipus’ face.
“Thank you, Unipus! For saving the day!
We are sorry we mocked you…by the way.”
At that very moment everyone knew
that the moral of this story was simple and true.
It doesn’t matter how many tentacles you possess
and you shouldn’t worry about looking like the rest.
Being different should never cause discrimination or pain.
We learned this from a sea creature
and Unipus is his name.
