the gentleness of whales

For the whales move slowly,

Larger than any other life,

Announced in the waters

With their plumes of spray,

Exhalations from lungs

Large beyond imagination;

As gentle as the touch

Of early morning sun;

For there are none like them,

None who have their dignity.

Above them green waters

Enfold and embrace

These creatures of another time;

When the space of the world

Was sufficient for Behemoth;

For there are none like them,

None who are as gentle.

Listen to their calls, songs

Of one to another, of things

That of each the other

Would wish to know;

Of the green depths and the waters

Where kin meets kin

Across the empty miles;

They flourish above wide forests

Of waving kelp, in caverns

Of liquid blue beyond

Our human envisioning;

For there are none like them

In the waters of this earth;

None who can replace them.