Shawn L. Bird

Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.

poems- there be whales here! March 26, 2014

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:30 pm
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First a tumbling of the waves

then a shot of spray

while the bulk of gray

rises as we watch safely

from two hundred metres away.

.

.

.

Hubby took pity on my whale-less sighting attempts (which were quite pathetic, truly) and booked us a whale watching trip.  I saw four clearly.  3 were feeding in a shallow area we couldn’t get too close to, then a 4th was in a really good spot for excellent viewing.  We went out and saw a couple of others, but they weren’t as impressive as gray whale 383.  I tried to video him, so I may post that if it worked.  (Don’t get your hopes up.  I tend to think I’m filming when I’m not, and visa versa).

 

 

poem- waiting for grey whales March 25, 2014

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 7:24 pm
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On shore watching

patiently waiting

for grey whales.

Scanning grey-blue sky

into grey-blue horizon

on grey-blue ocean

searching for a grey puff of breath

a fluke, sign of a whale amid the grey tipped waves.

Staring.

Scanning.

Watching.

Impatiently waiting for grey whales

in the blue-grey ocean

before the blue-grey horizon

under the blue-grey sky.

Staring.

Scanning.

Watching.

Waiting for grey whales

makes me

blue.

.

I’ve wanted to see whales since I read this book as a kid. 3rd trip to the coast during the grey whale migration, and still no sighting.

 

April 13, 2014.  Diana Gabaldon trivia:  Fred Phleger, author of the above book, was a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography from 1951 to 1977.  Diana earned her MS in Marine Biology at Scripps in 1975.