Poem – ON PORPOISE (By Ray Gallucci)

 

ON PORPOISE

 

Am I watching the dolphins

Or are they watching me,

Somersaulting on backfins,

While I swim clumsily?

 

At the junction of our worlds

Where the land meets the sea,

Somewhat shallow for their twirls,

I can stand awkwardly.

 

I’m not native to water;

They’re not native to land.

Still each other we ought to

Mutually understand.

 

Both evolved from a species

Long ago breathing air

Whose ancestors were fishes

In the sea we now share.

 

Speech we both have in common,

Though our sounds aren’t the same.

Air’s much thinner a medium

Than the ocean they claim.

 

Bigger brains both developed,

But humans have done more:

Satellites earth enveloped,

Ocean depths we explored.

 

But maybe they’ve adapted

Perfectly so as not

Had to have interacted

Beyond their present lot.

 

Their oceans span the planet.

Our every lands they touch.

And yet we take for granted

Our primacy and such.

 

Dolphins just mind their business,

No species drive extinct.

As they us humans witness,

Care to guess what they think?

 

 

(Published in NOMAD’S CHOIR, Summer 2010, Vol. 18, Issue 3)

 

Author Bio:



I am a Professional Engineer who has been writing poetry since 1990. I am an incorrigible rhymer, tending toward the skeptical/cynical regarding daily life. I have been fortunate to have been published in poetry magazines and on-line journals such as NUTHOUSE, MOTHER EARTH INTERNATIONAL, FEELINGS/POETS’ PAPER, MÖBIUS (when Jean Hull Herman published), PABLO LENNIS, MUSE OF FIRE, SO YOUNG!, THE AARDVARK ADVENTURER, POETIC LICENSE, THUMBPRINTS, UNLIKELY STORIES, BIBLIOPHILOS, FULLOSIA PRESS, NOMAD’S CHOIR, HIDDEN OAK, PABLO LENNIS, POETSESPRESSO, SOUL FOUNTAIN, WRITER’S JOURNAL, ATLANTIC PACIFIC PRESS, DERONDA REVIEW, LYRIC, THE STORYTELLER, WRITE ON! and DANA LITERARY SOCIETY.