Tommaso shows me a video clip
of the squid he caught on his fishing trip

I watched as he held one up to the light
from the torch he wore to go fishing that night

‘Look how its colour shimmers!’ he said
‘A ripple of pattern from its tentacles to its head!’

‘It’s like they’re warning each other of danger!’
Then he dropped it back in the plastic container

It lay staring up like a stranded alien
And I suddenly felt bad for all the calamari I’d eaten

I mean – I know a squid eats shellfish and such
and probably doesn’t worry about THAT overmuch

but a squid can’t leave the safety of the sea
and stroll down the road to Sainsbury’s like me

I wish it could; maybe we’d chat
about the cost of seafood and stuff like that

And I must admit I’ve felt quite hooked
ever since I saw how that poor squid looked

draped over Tommaso’s black gloved hand
out of luck and over land

its gills flapping pointlessly
as it flashed its skin iridescently

and I bet if a squid believed in God
it’d be something with a torch and a fishing rod