The manatee is not thinking
About the meaning of his blubbering
Or the odd shake making the old
Man’s pants disconnect in the undertow.
What gossip should this kelp allow?
The crab goes on whistling as the cloud
Transforms into a meat cleaver.
A seagull dives on the lever
And the pier erupts into confetti.
Some things never change, hi.
O shy pelican in the breeze!
O jellyfish pulsing your own sneeze!
O tower of sand that never wanted!
I haven’t even mentioned myself yet.
A proud Hoosier, Tyler Gobble is currently a poetry fellow at the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas and a teaching artist for Badgerdog. Alongside Jennifer Whalen, he hosts Everything Is Bigger, a reading series in Austin, TX. His first full-length collection, MORE WRECK MORE WRECK (Coconut Books), is available from SPD. He prefers disc golf, sleeveless shirts, porches, and bacon. More at tylergobble.com.
(The title of the poem, "In the Crucial Sea With Ultrashiny Animals," comes from an Elisabeth Workman line from her awesome book Ultramegaprairieland.)