Illuminating Whale

By Janina Arndt

We know they exist

But do we grasp they are there?

We know they exist

But do we really care

When we can’t see them every day?

How much thought have you spent

On a whale lately, may

I ask if you’ve thought of

How miraculous whales are,

How mystic a creature they are?

Of course you know they exist

They are thirty metres long

And the largest of the animals on earth.

But how much thought have you spent

On a whale lately, worth

How much worth do they hold in your life?

They are far far away

Speak no words, just make sounds.

I have more pressing things

To do and think about.

Only when you turn your head

And look at the wall of light

Wall of water shining bright

Will you see the whale and know

They are there don’t just exist.

They are creatures in the mist

Of our complacent forgetfulness

And you will turn and look at him

Gasping for air with his big flank.

The whale knows you are fast

And he can only ever ask

For you not to look away

For you to stop the cold command

To ‘FIRE!’

Things we can’t see are still there

Open up and you will care

He came all the way down here

Turning his noises into words

Bringing Northern lights unto our Wear.

Understanding him hurts.

Do not flinch he asks you here.

I have come to you on the Wear

To see me so you think of me.

Consider me and I’ll be free.

Consider me and I’ll be free.

“Tail of a whale” by Edith Schreurs licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0