Ode to the Odious

Crystal Cove, California (my photo)

Oh, you stinky, slimy hairball,

Coughed up from the shadowy sea,

Why must you always tangle 'round my feet?

Slippery brown mermaid tresses
Discarded in foul-smelling lumps--
What makes you desecrate this golden beach?

Stay in your forest in the deep,

Where crabs munch on your crunchy blades,

And otters take refuge from hungry sharks.

I guess you do have your uses

Even here on the dawn-kissed dune,

As shorebirds hunt for a breakfast buffet.

Flies flock to your briny fibers

And sandpipers snap up the flies;

I gaze, entranced, at this synchronized dance.

I have new appreciation
For the role you play in nature:

I get by with a li'l kelp from my friends.

~*~

Ode to kelp written for The Skeptic's Kaddish W3 Prompt 230.