Honored to have a poem chosen by Kitsap County photographer Steve Hannuksela to accompany his photograph in the Bainbridge Island Photo Club Ars Poetica 2020 Exhibition.
A few copies of the lovely broadside edition of the poem, designed and printed by the North Press of Port Townsend, are available. Click the"Broadsides" tab above.
“Brainstorming in a Think Tank”
Photographer: Steve Hannuksela
Poet: John Delaney
Brainstorming in a Think Tank
Through the waving fronds of kelp,
Eleanora clung to the glass
of the shore aquarium
with her tight-lipped suction cups.
Two of her eight arms
meandered off to lave
the rough surface of a rock
and tried to gently hug it,
but curled themselves back.
Then she poured herself
in a slinky wave
over the barnacled ledge
of an abandoned den,
taking everything in
with her, pooling,
collecting her thoughts
from her nine brains,
while her three hearts kept
pumping yes, maybe, no,
when, out of the blue,
she changed color. Ooh!
by John Delaney
Why I chose this poem:
Underwater Photographer, Steve Hannuksela
The poem talks so fondly about Eleanora the Octopus and
it is how I feel each time I see one. The poem also
describes my encounter with this giant pacific
octopus. When I came across it, it started to meander off
along the rough surface of a rock and then stopped. It
seemed to think yes, maybe, no, while I slowly took
pictures of it. The photo was taken at Rockaway Beach Park on
Bainbridge Island in 85 feet of water.