Fay Riot's Fable

I’m Fay Riot, here to spill some sea tea about my phytoplankton family

We live off the beaten path in Lake Avalon in Florida

I’m the rainbow-colored plant sitting in center stage of this scrappy, beautiful bouquet

Becoming the Queen of Lake Avalon didn’t happen overnight

Okay, maybe I’m the queen’s punk-rock kid sister—but I digress

It can get rough living underground in the cold deep drink, but we fought to see the light

You get dragged through the mud

The wind breaks the shells and dirt and forms the rocks, trying to make us hard

We’ve become the “hang-out” house on the block for the neighbors, including:

ALLIGATORS, SNAKES, SALMON, BEAVERS, FROGS, DUCKS, CATFISH

The abyss of the sea floor is riddled with drama

Our resident catfish gets online and tells females that he’s Brad Pitt

Our silly little water lily is prone to a teenage fit

Sasha the salmon survives in both fresh and saltwater, so she thinks she’s the whole shrimp shebang

Our aquatic kingdoms cover seventy percent of the planet; shouldn’t that earn us a little clout?

When you throw your garbage into our home, you’re shortchanging us and it must stop

After all, we wouldn’t throw water bottles at you in your “dream deferred” pawnshop

If it’s the fountains of the Bellagio that you seek, you should know that you’re up the creek

I know that we’re not the Caspian Sea, but I grew up here so that’s good enough for me

Finally – to that blonde photographer who trekked through the mangroves to get a shot

Wake up Annie Leibovitz of the sea - this is our turf, and you don’t even know me

Your favorite plankton punk is signing off and wishing you fair winds and following seas