-- Whale Road --

John Herlihy

The great humpback colossus of the waters,

Floats with the buoyancy of an elfin nymph.

Its eerie cry torches a thousand miles of night,

In a distant fathom of the deep, a cry echoes.

In fluid waters, whales a road of light see,

Sunlight in rays as moonlight luminescence.

Glittering pathways as if from heaven anointed,

The dim pathway of light in moonglow arrayed.

Black rivers of sperm whales as mythic beasts,

Roll like boulders through the undulating waters.

In pursuit of forces resulting from driving instinct,

Trails they pursue spread in the dark as moonstone.

No furrows form in the passage of the behemoths,

Only the breath of agitation shivers the sea in its wake.

As primordial relic of pre-history in ancient pathways,

They explore their watery environment in serene pursuit.

Periodically, they rise to the surface to breathe fresh air,

Through venting blowholes that spew misted breath.

Their colossal bulk suddenly as heavy as the earth,

As they crash back into the inviting waters, weightless.

For one brief moment, repeated throughout the night,

Sleeping whales hover at surface seemingly half awake.

Their bodies reflecting the copper glint of a one-eyed moon,

White-cresting waves alive in the remnants of night silence.

The glittering snake of the whale road coursing onward,

These shadow whisperers born to the rigors of the deep.

In serenity, they swim at peace thru aquamarine torrents,

Their beating heart ready to find where freedom lives.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Wednesday 10 November 2021