WHALESONG (tanka series - 1989)
Lightning foam ripples
the glass surface of the night
water, and the deep
thrumming of whalesong thunders
across an island dreamscape
A lone figure, I
pause, feet nestled in the sand
I listen to the
cries of the leviathans
and I desire to join them
My spirit hungers
to loose itself, escape the
imprisoning land
and wander there among those
gentle creatures of the sea
Their massive flukes stand
silhouetted against the
clouded, moonlit sky
like wings of seraphim, there
suspended for a moment
They slip down, sounding
beneath the inky, whorled depths
as they merge with the
velvet line of horizon
piercing water with voices
Only their mournful
echoes remain to assure
me of their steady
presence, sure and free; somehow
they are here . . . within my mind
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5 comments:
Whoozer!An instant exellent classic.This is almost Biblical sounding,like a modern day psalm.Fantastic!
Thank you, Sam. It's hard for me to belive I was 17 when I wrote this. Sometimes it seems like only yesterday.
beautiful
(i cried the first time i saw whales - off new england a few years back)
only seventeen too
cheers
I felt that way when I saw porpoises riding the bow wave of a boat I was on in Alaska. I was fourteen. I've not actually seen whales. It's a childhood dream of mine to see Humpbacks in the wild. Some day...
Very good!! Grew up with dolphins. I would love to see whales in the wild too.
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