Oh relic, from a wayward deep sea branch br The octopi and squid have passed you by br Kaleidoscopic cousins who perchance br Have left you sinking, reticent and shy br Cool eyes are saucered opals, milky hued br A powder blue afloat in talc soft skin br A death slow pulse evokes hypnotic mood br Diaphanous slit gills draw water in br br A dark intruder looming, swift and lithe br Flip inside out, concealed in fluted purse br With jellied cirri, white on black, you writhe br From tips, blue neon fusillade disperse br Intruder lunges, misses, glides away br Unpeel, dilate your luminescent cape br Unfolded, fine twinned filaments sashay br As lucent ribbon cast from membrane drape br br At this great depth, free oxygen is scant br Yet you, blue-blooded master of the glean br Now flaunt archaic inner light extant br Bright flashes strobe with phosphorescent sheen br With languid flaps, you cautiously advance br Warm eyes, aglow with blend of rose and frost br Do you, withdrawn beauty, seek to dance? br With I, a winsome lonely copepod lost.