The aquarium by meredith mcdonough

the discipline needed to cultivate my own thirty gallon sea exasperates even the most patient of my girlfriends.

this morning i adjust the wave pump to a gentle speed,
appropriate for a cold morning, and turn on the backlight.

some of the fish sleep, ghostfully suspended in the water.
i track the shimmering paths of the snails across the glass.

some have covered large swaths of territory
while one has hardly moved, not a good sign.

dipping my hand into the water,
i worry about introducing bacteria and about upsetting

the perfect ph of the water
and retrieve the errant snail i've named harpo.

i smell him, sensitizing my nose
to the subtle bouquet of sickness,

some combination yeast, decay, and salt.
how is it that the real oceans can withstand almost any abuse

while this coddled miniature struggles to live?
the coral never holds quite the pink i hope for

and fish continue to catch strange sicknesses
like the angel fish, greta, who has a parasite.

her body has begun to malfunction,
her own fins disobeying her wish to go forward.

electricity holds this fragile world together.
once, the power failed and within days

every organism died, rose to the surface
and began rotting at a terrible pace, smelling like a crime scene.

"how is it that the real oceans can withstand almost any abuse while this coddled miniature struggles to live? "

what does the word coddled mean?

protected
contained
broken
mistreated

{asap} select the correct text in the passage. which line in this excerpt from jonathan swift's "a modest proposal" uses the rhetorical device of irony? and secondly, there being a round million of creatures in humane figure throughout this kingdom, whose whole subsistence put into a common stock, would leave them in debt two million of pounds sterling, adding those who are beggars by profession, to the bulk of farmers, cottagers and labourers, with their wives and children, who are beggars in effect; i desire those politicians who dislike my overture, and may perhaps be so bold to attempt an answer, that they will first ask the parents of these mortals, whether they would not at this day think it a great happiness to have been sold for food at a year old, in the manner i prescribe, and thereby have avoided such a perpetual scene of misfortunes, as they have since gone through, by the oppression of landlords, the impossibility of paying rent without money or trade, the want of common sustenance, with neither house nor cloaths to cover them from the inclemencies of the weather, and the most inevitable prospect of intailing the like, or greater miseries, upon their breed for ever. i profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that i have not the least personal interest in endeavouring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the publick good of my country, by advancing our trade, providing for infants, relieving the poor, and giving some pleasure to the rich. i have no children, by which i can propose to get a single penny; the youngest being nine years old, and my wife past child-bearing. lines highlighted: - there being a round million of creatures in humane figure throughout this kingdom, whose whole subsistence put into a common stock, would leave them in debt two million of pounds sterling, - they have since gone through, by the oppression of landlords, the impossibility of paying rent without money or trade, the want of common sustenance, with neither house nor cloaths to cover them from the inclemencies of the weather - i have not the least personal interest in endeavouring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the publick good of my country, - i have no children, by which i can propose to get a single penny; the youngest being nine years old, and my wife past child-bearing.

In at least 150 words, identify and describe the setting, and the way the author uses imagery to describe it for part 1 of nectar in a sieve.

What impact does the use of dashes have on the rhythmic structure of this poem? the dashes create imperfect rhyme that confuses the reader. the dashes create a slow rhythm that is pleasant for the reader. the dashes create a quick rhythm that confuses the reader the dashes create a heightened rhythm that excites the reader