It was thought the young whale was pregnant
confused as she was and out of her depth.
They waded into the river to help,
floated rubber rafts to buoy her up.
Marine experts posited ways
to keep her breathing in shallow waters.
In dockyard pubs
hard men openly spoke of her plight,
voices low and humorless
as they test-drove new technical jargon.
When she died;
rolling in the pebbly shallows
we threw a tarpaulin over her
as if she were a human cadaver.
We had televised everything,
implemented elaborate plans,
recorded last moments with ripples of hope.
Later we watched the sluggish waves
wash away her long drowning.
~~~~~
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/young-whale-trapped-in-london-s-river-thames-euthanized-1.5421060
It was thought she was pregnant
confused as she was
and out of her depth.
They waded into the river to help.
They floated rubber rafts to buoy her up.
Marine experts posited ways
to keep her breathing in shallow waters.
In dockyard pubs
hard men openly spoke of her plight,
voices low and humorless
as they test-drove new technical jargon.
When she died;
rolling in the pebbly shallows
we threw a tarpaulin over her
as if she were a human cadaver.
We had done our best, had televised everything,
implemented elaborate plans,
recorded last moments with ripples of hope;
watched the sluggish waves
wash away her long drowning.
There was a daredevil boy from Spain
Who wanted to go to the USA by train,
The train fell into the Ocean,
Causing a global commotion,
So he swam across rather board a plane.
i will stop the tears
this time won’t be a river
i have swam enough
Heidi Sands
12/28/18
“When Silence Swam on the Menu”
There is no past
There is no future
All there is, is the
Silence of Now
We move through the hours
day by day
soft-skinned vessels, souls gliding
flowing like water
In the swim
side by side
All as one
but One unknown
The menu changes daily
The unified constant
is the
Silence of Now
(Lovejoy-Burton, August 2018)
"Alan Watts When youre silent it speaks"
https://youtu.be/7hnDWsPS2nI
I feel I’ve reached the age when
I start to see others fading away
The old get ill
The young get old
It’s as if I’m trying to
Grip water with my bare hands
No matter how hard I try,
It pours out and leaves
A transparent stain on my skin
My grandmother’s voice is frail and distant
My grandfather’s eyes have sagged
His pride seems weakened
These people whom I have come to love
Not because they are family but because they have earned my love
They carry with them the only feeling of home
That I’ve ever felt…
My only sense of belonging
What happens when I lose that?
What happens when I don’t have anyone to remind me of who I am?
Or where I come from?
Or what I stand for?
What happens when I find myself homeless and alone?
With nothing but a distant memory
Like drops of water on my hands
To remind me of the River I once swam in...
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