organic chemistry

when i was a kid
i thought i'd grow
up and be a marine
biologist; that was
my dream;

every time we went
out on the family sailboat
i would watch the ocean
with great intensity;
watch every ripple and swirl,
every motion and wave;
wondering what lay beneath;

once off the coast of California
near Oxnard our boat stilled
due to no wind and a great
white something small
under our boat; at least 10 feet
long, you could just barely
make out the pectoral fins through
the hazy salt water;

i couldn't pass organic chemistry
in college, marine biology required
organic chemistry; every day
i sell organic chemistry; another
rat in a cage running on a rodent
wheel;

the only time i am truly free,
swimming in the ocean
with sharks and whales, manta rays
and dolphins;

i'm not a marine biologist, i'm a number
and when my number's up,
i'll let you know --