Two years ago on Christmas day
A most unusual gift came my way.
A huge great fish tank in all its glory
Was the beginning of my story.

I hauled it home to set it up,
A sunken ship, live plants and pump.
I prepared a home doing my best to give
New little friends a wonderful place to live.

And when all that work was done
I took the grandkids to have some fun.
We each chose a funky little fishy dude
Of the oddest shapes and all brightly hued.

Added a few guppies and a handful of mollies;
People said we'd soon have gollies.
I'd watch them swimming amongst the bubbles
And soon forget all my troubles.

Feeding my darlings one morning I found
The tiniest of babies all darting around.
Gollies, of course, can't really be,
But what they were was impossible to see.

Lively little silver streaks
Wouldn't show their colors for many weeks.
Dozing on my couch one evening I heard a sound
And awoke to find water splashing on the ground.

I ran to the kitchen for a jug
Before seventy gallons soaked my rug.
With fish in pails I was up all night
Drying their home and sealing it tight.

The fish returned home after days in a pail
And I wish I could say that ended my tale
But a few weeks later came again the awful sound
Of water dripping on the ground.

What to do next I just don't know
It's time to go and ask a pro.
What I learned nearly broke my heart;
Fixing it right would mean taking it all apart.

Upon hearing that I nearly cried
Fearing I'd break it if I even tried.
There's babies in a pail with no place to play,
They need a new home and they need it today.

I choose a nice big one, today it's on sale,
Rush home to get my babies out of that pail.
With no more money I eat noodles all week,
But my fish have a home guaranteed not to leak.