Lately, I can gauge the kind of week I’ve had by the number of times I’ve searched youtube for: “cute animal videos.” Happy week = few searches, bummy week = lots o’ searches. This week… well… let’s just say I’ve seen my fair share of dancing seals and skateboarding hounds and cats falling into garbage cans. Not to mention otters. Oh the otters.
And so, today for your poetry / viewing pleasure, I present an otter poem, and an otter video (you lucky ducks).
Otter – by Brian Carter
Sun-flickery
in his coat of many bubbles
he melts into water,
seldom troubles to rise for air,
an oil-slickery streak
of brilliantine, there
below the surface:
a shimmer below the glimmer
and spangle of summer,
a swirl with a tail,
a stain, a shadow
oil-slickery in his trickery
of dodges and feints
and dives and bubbly delvings…
(for the rest, seek out the beautiful collection, The Beauty of the Beast, selections by Jack Prelutsky).
Video time:
Cute little devil.
Hey, do you remember when you were in high school and you had to pay a visit to the guidance counsellor close to graduation to do one of those job interest & aptitude surveys and you found out you would be an amazing nurse or teacher or lawyer or artist etc.? Well, what I’d like to know is, what would I have had to say in order for the guidance teacher to tell me, “Gee, you’d be amazing at tickling baby otters all day long and being their swimming coach and then blow-drying them afterwards!” How on earth did I miss out on that job? I guess I’ll have to stick to hanging out with the cute human pups. Dang it.
Shelf Elf: read, write, rave. 
