The Mantis Shrimp

The ancient creature dances in her rainbowed shell

Extraordinary sense of smell

Vision unparalleled - 12 photoreceptors, 4 times as many as my own

How can one ever imagine a world so vibrant, so rich, so full

I’d like to think that she can see

The ultraviolet touch of light

Through the ebbing waves as

She snuggles up to her partner

Outside of the reef

Far from predators

Yet by touching the ocean floor

She’s so much closer than I to Earth’s core

Feeling the pull of gravity

The force that holds us in existence

I’d like to think that she can see

Gravity.

Damn how I’d like to see gravity..

As it is I’ll never know what she sees:

I’m not a mantis shrimp

But shit I so wish I could be