With her calf she dives
Into the darkness a mile below the waves
Where the great squid abides
Ferocious Goliath monarch of oceans deep.
Singing a lilting lullaby to her calf
In the darkness she swims in playful mood
And can for an hour remain down in the deep
Swimming side by side with her son.
Largest of the toothed whales
She comes to the surface
Spouting water through her blowhole
Smacking her great tail on the waves.
The Japanese harpooner takes aim
And the deadly bolt plunges home
The explosive charge detonates
Mortally wounded she calls to her calf.
Hauled up dying by her tail
Against the side of the whaling ship
In agony she dangles head in the sea
Bleeding slowly to death.
Her calf calls out in anguish
Following the ship for hours
But there is no lilting answering lullaby
Only blood in the water.
Colin Ian Jeffery
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/death-of-a-sperm-whale/
