I never had a pet
And would never have one,
If it were not for my biology teacher
Ms. Ghodsi.
It was a new biology project
To build a bottle biome,
And for the finishing touch
We needed something alive.
I got a list of things to bring,
Including plants, rocks, soil, seeds,
And at the bottom of the shopping list
It said, “Insects and a fish.”
There was a little drama at my home
About placing a fish into a biome,
Because my parents were concerned
If a fish would survive or not.
My parents still took me to Petco that day
To do the shopping right away.
We got everything on the list,
Including a small, red Betta fish.
It was a Betta Baby Boy,
A tiny, twisting twirl,
His name fit him like a glove,
And he fit into our home.
The fish was so cute,
My dad refused to take him to the school.
Instead, he sent an email to the teacher,
Asking if a fish was required as a biome feature.
Ms. Ghodsi’s reply was,
“No. It is not a requirement at all.”
Then she gave me a fish of her own
To use for my group’s biome.
The biome project took a month,
And I was happy to see that Ms. Ghodsi’s fish survived.
Not all groups were so lucky with keeping their biomes alive,
And their unfortunate test subjects did not survive.
It all happened six months ago,
And I still have the Baby Boy at home.
He used to live in the kitchen,
But started looking like an unhappy creature.
Now he lives in the bathroom
And swims in his tank very joyful.
Every time I enter the bathroom,
He spreads his gills with excitement.
Probably thinking I’m there to feed him,
Always hungry, like me after school.