These three lay stranded, spit back
black by a whipped and layered sea.
How now, if ever he was vengeful,
Jonah must joyless chuckle to see it
These three who lay stranded with toys,
littering the sand -- their phalli anchored,
oars stilled, and portholes spilling out
a last salty gasp to grasp it
These three who lay stranded, chasing
seamen with a frantic gaze, to fetch help
or seek simple solace from the monstrous
riddles staining their glassy eyes
These three who lay stranded, smitten
again by land long-ago left to reverse
evolution's tide. God can't undo
their nifty trick swift enough to save
These three who lay stranded and wait,
lonely for their brothers still headed to shore.
It's Day 6 of NaPoWriMo, and I'm still churning out the words. The ReadWritePoem.org prompt for today is to converse with images. I found the image above while looking up some information for another poem. It's a 1577 engraving entitled "Three Beached Whales" by the Dutch artist Jan Wierix.
6 comments:
whoa. intense image and intense poem.
I enjoyed it, immensely. Pun not intended yet interesting.
It has just occured to me as noone knows why these whales beach themselves maybe Jonah is behind it!
A stranded or dead whale is such a tragedy. They are enigmatic creatures (like so many other animals).
This poem is sincere and unsentimental and this makes it the more moving. The language fits the image (and vice versa) perfectly too.
Francis,
"These three lay stranded" I love the repitition of this piece. It is such a tragedy how they beach themselves.
Pamela
just visited your blog, please would you want to visit my blog again, I hope my blog will give you a new information, thank you
@Julie Intention is a tricky thing :). I love the image, and was lucky to find it, but I'd been meaning to write a "whale" poem.
@Rall When in doubt, seek truth in the Bible stories (or not).
@Jenny Thanks, the fact that it's been going on for centuries deepens the mystery for me. I'd credit the image for any resonance the poem may have.
@Pamela The repetition of that phrase was what came to me first. I felt it in someway gave it an air of questioning why.
@Oyz I visited, but it looked suspiciously like a spam blog.
Post a Comment