Jonathan Livingstone Shoggoth wanted to fly

He knew he could — believed he could — don’t ask him why!

It was just a call he felt from the furthest depths of the sky

(Perhaps it was the influence of the three-lobed burning eye)

But unlike his masters, the long-gone Elder Things,

Jonathan Livingstone Shoggoth didn’t have wings

In fact, aside from a certain sinuous skill at slithering

Jonathan Livingstone Shoggoth couldn’t do anything

Until, one fateful day, he met a certain sea-bird

Who wasn’t there one moment, then was — so absurd!

“You can fly, you can fly!” said the seagull, and our hero almost purred

Then hurtled forward, and in an instant, totally devoured that bird

Jonathan Livingstone Shoggoth still can’t fly

But he’s long since ceased to care — don’t ask him why

A protoplasmic blob, he doesn’t have a brain, like you or I

And Jonathan Livingstone Shoggoth will never die