The most curious of animals Poem by Ann Cotten

They are not there for anyone to live on
and really, they can only do things wrong.
They swallow hooks with little pain
but monofilaments get them first.
Are crushed in navigation locks,
dismantled by flood gates, or scratched,
they drown in pipes and culverts, die in
water control structures, crab pot
float lines. Suffocate in red tides,
imbalance and blooms of algae.
Like warm water. Tend to live
in casual long-term affairs
with power plants. Investigate
the source of heat, are shredded by
propellors. Sometimes they decease
much later from infections.