All of my life…I’ve had goldfish,
At least one…in a large bowl;
On the coffee table…it would sit,
One big goldfish…in his fish bowl!

Of course, a pet fish must have a name,
And, one that is just right;
“Flipper”… “SKIPPER”… “Goldie”,
Think of a good name…think with all your might!

Many times I’ve chosen “SKIPPER”,
To me…that is a good name;
But, each one of my pet fish were different,
No two of them…were ever the same.

One goldfish may look like a “Flipper”,
Then, that’s the name for it;
But, a “SKIPPER” or a “Goldie”,
For that one…it would never fit!

You’ll know…when you’ve picked the right name,
It’s not that they’ll come…when you call;
Fish don’t do that…it’s just because,
Another name didn’t fit them at all!

Through the years…I’ve had many,
There was a “Flipper I”…and “Flipper II”;
Of course, there was also “Goldie”…a few times,
And, “SKIPPER”…perhaps twenty-two!

Yes, you can tell…I like “Skipper” the very best,
It’s just that so many looked like him;
Truth be told…he was ‘special’,
And, my!…how he could swim!

No sad days `round our house,
When “SKIPPER” came on-board;
Just to see his fancy swimming,
Such a treat…and he wouldn’t be ignored!

Each time somebody came close,
He would go into his ‘song and dance’;
Well, not really…but his flip-flops,
And, he’d do it…every chance!

Well, maybe… just maybe,
He was looking for his meal;
But, we’d like to think he was performing,
For, the ‘show’…he tried to steal!

“SKIPPER” had a constant visitor,
Whenever our patio door was open;
Our neighbor’s big, black cat would come to call,
Not to eat “SKIPPER”…we were hoping!

We had so much fun with that silly fish,
As `round and `round the bowl he would go;
But, came the time when he was too crowded,
My!…how “SKIPPER”…did grow!

Unlike my Gramma…we had no pool,
What to do with him…was the question;
But, the Pet Store came to our rescue,
A deal with us…they were a`thinking!

“We’ll give “SKIPPER” a good home,
And, give you “SKIPPER, JR.”…in return;
Not much else that we could do,
So, away “SKIPPER” was taken.

“SKIPPER JR.” was so playful,
And, we had much we needed to teach him;
Still, he taught us many things,
But, first he had to learn how to swim!!!

(Yeah…right: just kidding!)

********

June 8, 2004

Aimee Love
(LHG)