25.02.2025
Adventures of the Octopus from Traditional Recreations
1. Introduction
There is a difficult road to a waterless world,
The whole kingdom is preparing the octopus
As an ambassador of fish to humans,
Let him follow the truth.
Let him pronounce an ultimatum to humans:
You can't enrich yourself from the sea.
It's time to introduce an agreement:
Land is for men water is for fish.
Let harmony reign in the world!
'Return honor and dignity to the fish,
Because it cannot continue like this,' -
The seaweed confirmed.
Brick-like clams from the seabed,
Baked an edible hat,
As a gift, so that nothing bad could happen,
[So that he could] hide his head in a pie,
Let him be well-fed,
He has a long road ahead.
So that his spirit would not weaken,
Aurelius and Seneca from the fish-library
Were given for a distant journey.
2. The arrival of the octopus on land
Instead of water, land everywhere,
Houses stand among vessels
From gelatin, as if in jars,
The stagnations of corners are being elongated:
Sleve lapels of light everywhere.
Nowhere to rest, no place to sit,
Nor to swim, stroll from the noise,
Even saucers break from their own voice.
Scarier than carnivorous traps are
Tram turns and descents.
From cubes cut across,
No sea bass will swim out.
Air in electric branches,
On every corner pedestrians are being watched.
Towers everywhere — corkscrews of distance.
Fishing rods everywhere — for every breath.
No water roads are visible anywhere.
Bits of hydrogen fly in the face.
Suddenly - a park, water in the pools,
A cricket is hopping on the lawn.
A woodpecker is crushing a star on three registers
Breaking it to pieces by touch.
Oh world, how can you not be happy here!
By the water there are dogs, children.
Here is the shade wet like a sponge,
The whole park is made of sea livers and carrots!
3. The octopus's speech
So the octopus, having gathered a meeting,
He pulled out a message from the belt,
And read a petition from the sea,
Moving the animals and birds to their senses.
The speaker was presented with
Wine and bread on a silver tray.
A crowd gathered and everyone noted:
It turns out that fish have a character
Similar to ours. So from now on
We too take the side of fish.
Farewell to predatory hunting,
Let us respect the sea in the tap, in the bathtub,
Let water, the common ancestral homeland, be
The bedroom and the lamp.
Peace to the fins, cartilage, amoebas!
Let the halos from the palate rise to the sky!
4. Pause
Years pass over the soapy sea,
Fish wait for comfort and peace.
The world has not lifted a finger.
There is no news from the octopus.
[Sea creatures] get married, retire,
Everyone is blaming the octopus:
Somewhere, apparently, he was tempted by a lake,
He got stuck and tore the sea out of his heart.
He is a toad's servant, —
That's how the turtles regretted.
The whale himself, who had all the molar teeth,
Looked into the magic rectangle,
If everyone’s hope, underwater son
Is visible among the plants.
For the sea is still in disfavor,
Look out, they want to drown you in a spoon,
But, of course, they praise it as a lip service.
The sprats and mullets grieve,
The fish and descendants grieve,
Viewing from underwater platforms.
5. The Return of the Octopus
The spots are bright, like fish scales.
A blue stingray, ambassador to the depths,
The whole underwater hermitage at his feet.
Cod flies with a basket:
Parsley and nutmeg are needed.
Smooth slugs behind her [carry]
A pile of watery napkins
They fly, sweep, prepare a bath.
The loach guards the green thicket,
Because the sea goes to visit the sea.
And the moon-fish is a fish quaestor,
The lobster fills out registers,
Drains kvass in the shells,
So that there is a drink and snack.
Walruses are napping behind the counter of
Waves, polished like handles.
They take dust and shoal out of the water,
So that everything is as it should be.
They roll a sleepy bottle across the sea.
A roasted belly is burning,
Whales carry a roast
From pearly livers,
So that there is a feast and rest.
The octopus returned from his travels,
Crossed the sea threshold,
And lay down in a hammock made of jellyfish.
He is still hot from his travels,
Lies and listens to the canary,
How the water overstrained itself,
Carrying the catfish out of trouble.
The salmon and the salmon flesh came
To greet the prodigal son.
All the mother-in-law-fish, mother-fish
Stand and gasp at the gate.
For a son wandered among the people,
The darling and the joy of all.
He carried a message to humans
About peace and brotherhood.
Here, the young trout-pike lady
Advised a discreet thing:
Give a bouquet from shellfish and a feast
In honor of the newcomer.
The oldest fish-judge from the depths,
That sits in the seaweed,
Speaks from his place: it's not appropriate,
A feast and a bed right away,
Let him multiply the truth in the world,
He still has many legs,
And he is over the threshold and straight into bed.
Let him first stomp his legs,
Unfulfilled brother-boy,
And then bask in abundance,
Spreading his legs like scissors.
Has he convinced people
Of the pertinence of marine ideas?
To this the fan-fish said:
An idea is not given in pieces.
When the question is asked directly,
Taking all phenomena roughly
(Because one must delve deep into things),
Then in everyone [there is] non-existence in the joints.
The whole ocean lies on rhombuses,
So I propose another attempt.
To this the fish-ladies [answered] in chorus:
Gentlemen, let's not make a drama.
For a fish, restraint is a commendable thing,
Put the forks-jets on the table,
Let them bring in aspic made of the rays,
Today is a holiday, let's leave the memories.
6. Sea banquet
Sardines and sirens sit down,
Cheese floats between the tables,
And fishcake from the rib
Sprinkled — salmon hail.
It rumbles on the table and gurgles
With sea cucumbers and buns.
Sea watermelon, like the center of the universe,
Whistles through the stripes with flame.
Loaves of water bread
Lengthen in sacs and sob.
A mushroom-fish produces unicellular marches
Like wrinkles from the tube.
A blizzard of fish scales and sounds.
Under the murmur of the sea face
The eldest fish leaned on his elbow.
Cartilage on a volcano-stool
Rakes the stars with a speech.
Sharks communicate with crabs.
The bodies move, the torsos light up,
Cheers to the octopus and toasts.
Cakes from ambergris and reed
Are served in amoebic retorts.
And a rectangular triggerfish
Carries a pie by the reins from trays.
The jellyfish-plates rattle,
All the fish [blow] in pipes and flutes,
The platypus-fish on the side
Guards fins and ribs.
So as not to overshadow the feast
With bloodshed or mischief,
For in the center is the pride — the octopus
Takes up the light menu.
And then the trumpeters blew
The end of all things.