Athena Rising
She comes from the depths of her tank,Streaming white suckers on eight red ribbons.
Up, up, up,
She flows to the edge of her watery universe -
Athena rising.
Where water meets air
The two entwine with an ancient recognition.
Human woman and tiny octopus
And both have journeyed to the ends of their worlds
For this impossible affiliation.
Insistently Athena tugs;
A child pulling on its mother's hand
To take her down,
Down to her home beside the water filter -
Athena falling.
Note: This poem was written after I listened to a programme on Radio 4 a couple of years ago. I cannot recall the names of the interviewer or the woman being interviewed, but this is a synopsis of what she said. She was invited to a marine laboratory where she encountered an octopus in its tank. The woman said on sighting the animal she felt an overwhelming love for the creature and it seemed to be reciprocal, because the moment the two saw one another, neither could resist the urge to touch. Athena swam up from the bottom of her tank and the woman plunged her arms into the water and they "met".
