I wonder if the octopus ever gets confused,
down there in its coral apartment,
when one arm is busy prying open a clam,
another is tasting the water for tiger sharks,
and a third is rearranging the pebbles outside its den,
just for a better view.
It must be like trying to read eight books at once,
or carry on a conversation in eight languages
while simultaneously knitting a sweater.
Scientists say each arm has its own mind,
a mini-brain that knows how to taste,
touch & decide on its own
whether to hold on, or let go.
The central brain,
the one behind the eyes,
just whispers the general objective:
“Find food. Hide. Don’t die.”
The how is up to the committee of arms.
And isn’t that a better way to think of us?
Not as one world under a single, heavy crown,
but as a great, global octopus;
each nation a nimble, curious arm,
with its own language, its own memory,
its own way of tying a knot.
The central mind is no tyrant;
just a shared, quiet pulse, saying:
“Survive. Be well. Keep going.”
It trusts the arms to know their own business,
to feel their own way through the dark.
It seems the secret to a peaceful life
is to give each of your arms a mind of its own,
and then… GET OUT OF THE WAY!
No need for one culture to become the hand
that tells all the others what to hold.
We could be like this elegant creature,
each part autonomous, intelligent, and free,
yet still moving as one fluid thought
through this deep & mysterious water
we all, for a time, call home.
Majekodunmi O. Ebhohon is a Nigerian poet and playwright. He is the author of ‘The Great Delusion’, winner of the ANA Prize for Drama, 2025. He writes from Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.
He can be reached via +234 (0) 9139208624, sankara101010@gmail.com
