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

In,' The Aquarium', written by Meredith McDonough, he has used the word, 'coddled' to describe that the snails and fishes are well protected in the aquarium but still they die.

What does 'The Aquarium', is about?

In 'The Aquarium', by Meredith McDonough, the poet takes care of the fishes and snails in the aquarium, but despite all the care and protection, one snail dies.

The poet is amazed to see how these animals survive in the ocean and die in the aquarium, where they are treated with such good care and protection.

Therefore, option A, best describes the word Coddled.

Learn more about the poem, 'The Aquarium', here,

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