the rix mix

A lobster in the big tank at the supermarket caught my attention today as I was passing by on my way to the potato salad. It was on top of a lobster pile & making some kind of repetitive motion, so I stopped to watch. The doomed crustacean (at $6.99 per pound) was attempting with its long right front walking leg (Pereiopod) to remove the rubber band from its big left cruncher claw (Cheliped). It picked at the wide rubber band then tried to pry open the claw, picked then pryed. Lobster wasn't succeeding despite the walking leg having a rather sharp & strong small claw. It impressed me as a feisty animal of some intelligence. A lobster will self-amputate an appendage to escape a trap; the appendage grows back. If by a combination of persistance & luck the animal threw off its bonds, it would only crunch & maul the other occupants of the tank. I had to admit that most people look at a big claw on a lobster in a supermarket tank & imagine cracking, picking & sucking the "succulent" meat out of it. Still, something about the situation felt unfair.

Labels: poem