A Plume from a Whale

author’s note:

I’m a menagerie.  Who isn’t?


A PLUME FROM A WHALE

Today’s dark rain reminds me
of the day I almost drown.

And with the memory
I struggle once more
not to drown in the dark.

At such times I sometimes
lift myself
by imagining I’m a whale.

And so, despite my great capacity
I must rise to surface occasionally

to explode in the sun
with a geyser of steam—
a white plume—
a painful release—
an offering.

Some say that sunlit fountain
is just a bit of spit.
Maybe so
but that brief blow allows this whale
to take another breath
before returning
to the dark blue life
that feeds us so well.

Today, I offer these lines
to all you other leviathans
hoping you may remember:
even the strongest creature
must sometimes surrender
and rise to spout the deep water out
so that it won’t drown in the dark.

mythsteps · A Plume from a Whale

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