THE WOE OF A WHALE
Life is not easy, Holy One,
For whales here in the ocean
One hundred twenty feet in length,
A blubber blob in motion.
Old dinosaurs grew ninety
feet
But then their growth would
quit.
Blue whales are bigger! In
our mouths
An elephant would fit!
Yet we've no teeth! We dine on krill:
More creatures ought to try
it!
Too wee to see, krill makes you fat
No matter how you diet.
(Since I grow large on teeny
fish,
Mere microscopic elements,
Would I grow smaller if I
ate
Large buffalo and elephants?)
Some 40 million years ago
My ancestors went swimming,
And ended up becoming whales
Who have this problem slimming.
Please make me smaller, Holy
One,
And I will sing your glory
And smack my tail as applause
For my weight-losing story.
My heart will beat with love for thee,
Though it beats rather slowly,
Nine times a minute is my pulse,
A pace serene and holy.
So hear my prayer and help
me shrink,
And feel less irritation,
And leap more high above
the waves
To show my exaltation.
from the forthcoming book Prayers of 100 Animals A to Z, by William Cleary
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