Scarlet ruled the watery deep,
a thirty-gallon tank.
His eyes stayed open during sleep;
he ate whatever sank.

His name was better for a girl;
how we mistook him then.
The truth put us in quite a whirl:
more rooster, he, than hen.

His fin he bore just like a sail.
Our boldest fish by far—
and once we knew that he was male,
we sometimes called him Scar!

NaPoWriMo, Day 25 prompt: Write a ballad. I challenged myself and used (I think) the traditional ballad form. That’s why this is short — couldn’t sustain it for very long. 🙂 Also, I’m happy to report that Scarlet the ryukin (a type of fancy goldfish) is still with us — this just worked better in past tense.