Oh, the whales! In the sea, breaching waves, free to be
just a mom, or a calf, not baleen, or whale blubber—
no more brigs, no more sails, not these ships, that they flee,
not the past, but the now, the whale fishers. They’ll shoot her
and scrub her, her meat sold, and her fat—but a plea
to see her there in the sea. I’m a mother. So is she.
For dVerse where Björn has asked us to write anapestic tetrameter. Well. . .this is an attempt. I had a second stanza, and I just scrapped it. I think the poem works better without it. This was definitely hard.
This poem is also for Earth Day, which is today.
Several years ago, we visited our daughter and her wife who lived in Boston at the time, and we went on a whale tour, where we saw whale mothers and babies. Whales were a significant trade in New England and elsewhere in the nineteenth-century
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
I really would prefer to see her free… when I was a kid we sometimes ate whale from Norway… it sounds amazing now.
It does. I read an article that in Iceland they have whale on restaurant menus (this was from a couple years ago), but actually it was mainly tourists that ate it.
I have seen it… the same restaurant also serve puffin
Eww.
I think it is hard to write a serious sounding poem with these metre, but you have managed exactly that, because you did not stick to a strict rhyme scheme. Given the subject, I think this worked perfectly!
Thank you, Ingrid. I tried. 😏
Well written Merril, and a poignant poem. Bravo!
Thank you, Rob!
Very neat pictures; my dream to see a whale one day. I love the plea in your words. See her as a mother first and let her be ❤
It was very exciting. They warn you when you go out that you might not see any whales, but we saw several.
It is the most amazing thing to see a whale. Your poem is powerful for furthering the connection to a fellow creature, another mother.
Thank you very much, D.
The one time we went on out to see whales (San Francisco Bay), the water was rocky so I spent most of my time down below. As it was, few whales were seen. Even they thought the water was too rocky, I guess 😉 Best memory was seeing two whales do some synchronized swimming off the coast of California. We were on land and could only see them well with our binoculars but it was a treat! And I think you did very well with the poem xox
Thank you so much, Marie. We were fortunate to see them. Our daughter had done this a couple times before, and she really wanted us to go.
Well done. I read the rules and said… nope!
I want them all to be free. The Inuit are the only ones who should be allowed to hunt them because they don’t take more than they need and they use all of the animal.
Thank you. I don’t think I’m a particular fan of this sort of rhyme, but I thought I’d try it.
Yes, I agree.
Good for you for trying!
🙂
😀
Nicely done, Merril!
Whales are amazing. Nicely done, Merril. “…free to be…” is as it should be.
Thank you! Yes, indeed.
Excellent, Merril. Some of these forms give me headaches. You did wonderfully! ❤
Thank you so much, Colleen. 😀
You’re always welcome. ❤
Beautiful Merril. I love the association of the whale mother with the human connection as well.
Thank you, Dwight. I’m pleased that resonated with you.
You are welcome!
A proper Earth Day verse. Whales are amazing creatures. Yes, mothers just like us. (K)
Thank you so much, Kerfe.
As a fellow whale lover, I cannot even imagine the killing of these precious beasts. The meter and rhyme faded into the background with this beautiful piece for Earth Day.
Thank you very much, Mish.
I agree with Ingrid, it is hard to write a serious sounding poem with some metres, and you have pulled it off so well, Merril, by breaking it up with feminine rhymes, caesura and punctuation. Your poem has echoes of whale song in the opening line, but then you remind us of the awful history of the whale trade. That’s why I can’t read Moby Dick. The final line hits home. I would love to see whales swimming in the ocean.Sadly we have only had dead sperm whales washed up along our coast.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment, Kim!
Splendidly topical
Thank you, Derrick.
When I read your insightful and sobering poem, I forgot about everything else including form … it was that impactful.
Wow! Thank you so much, Helen!
The form seems to me is for epic poetry, the long haul stuff. You handled it well though and made a good poem despite the form (rather than because of it).
Thank you! Most seemed to write humor or light-hearted poems, but it’s just not my style. I’m glad you think it worked anyway. 😀
I don’t think it’s a good meter for humour, the lines are too long. It’s for great epic poems I think. Humour is best left to comics, anyway 🙂
They broke it up into shorter lines–like Dr. Seuss. 😀
Oh, I see. Not the same thing at all then.
No, I didn’t quite get it, but that’s OK. 😀
🙂
I think “See Her” works very effectively! I think a second stanza would have been too much. I still have yet to see a whale in the ocean. (Of course, I’m not particularly keen on boats.) I’m an hour and a half away from Boston.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Liz.
I’m not particularly keen on boats, either because I get seasick easily–but not really out on these boats with the wind. It’s interesting how much colder it gets away from shore. And it is truly amazing to see the whales!