I Sang as Happy as a Clam

I sang happy as a clam
That sleeps low on the ocean floor,
Then suddenly something swam
A walrus, in all his dark lore;
Coming near, across the beach,
Waddling and sliding almost in reach.

As natural as the sun that sets
And rises on the very next day,
It collides into the ocean met
With colors that soon do not fade:
Alighting the sky with fire and light,
Which are soon not forgotten, whatever your might.

The clams before him scurried in fright
As the walrus before them grinned in glee,
They swam and swam with all their might
But one fell and skinned his knee;
He cried- and cried- but none did come
To save him from the walrus’ gum.

And now, when I read from Carroll
Sitting upon my couch in strife,
I think of this story of the unlucky fellow
Which shows us the sadness of his life;
And then my mind with longing brims,
To swim with the clams and somehow win.

My favorite chapter from Through the Looking-Glass is both my favorite and my least favorite. I really dislike Tweedledee and Tweedledum, mostly I think because they really scared me as a child and I've never really gotten over it, but my favorite part of all is the poem 'The Walrus and the Carpenter.' It is just so funny to me. I picture the movie version of course in my mind when I read it, thinking of the song and the clams dancing behind them completely unaware. I picture them as young clams, perhaps teenagers who know what they are doing is wrong, but do it anyway because all of their friends are. Then after their untimely deaths, I imagine their parents, devastated and angry. I would like to think that the part that Tweedledee does not tell us is when they get revenge on their children's murderers. That is the part I would have loved to read, even more than the original poem. The conversation following this is really interesting as well. Alice originally likes the Walrus best because she believes that he shows remorse, but then is reminded that he ate the most, liking the Carpenter instead. To chose a favorite is a childish thing to do, that all of us cannot help doing. It is human nature to find the thing most appealing, and to attach yourself to it. It cannot be helped, at any age. Who ever has watched a movie and said 'this is my favorite part' is guilty of it. It's like an epidemic.