W Tipton, Some Rights Reserved, Flickr Photographer

Arms with minds of their own.
A body that can morph through
openings.

Three hearts beating
boom, boom, boom
to the call of the
ocean.

Like escapologists
obligated when opportunity
presents itself
to freedom
beyond the tank.

Blue blood
beating, beating, beating.

Octopus of song.
Octopus of story.
Octopus of science.

By June Perkins

This poem appeared at Australian Children’s Poetry