a poem about the rescue of a dolphin that won a prize in the ScarboroughWriters' Circle competition 2009.
Dolphin Rescue
I’ll tell a tale of a dolphin calf found
Stranded in shallows, confused, half-aground.
It panicked and struck out. Rescues had failed.
Deep in the ocean its mother still wailed.
Crowds on the shore saw its small fin grow weak:
Everyone knew that its outlook was bleak.
But Ann, who was pregnant, walking that shore
Couldn’t stand watching that horror so raw.
She waded and swam and took its small fin,
And saw in its eye the young fear within.Her babe kicked inside her, then submarine
Flowed echoic language kin spirits mean,
Understanding that meets in a moment,
Present in all things, blending the instant,
Through space that holds atoms in harmony,
Stretching through time a common history.
Ancient sounds murmured as soothing as balm.
The fever subsided, panic grew calm.
In time Ann gave birth; husband, overseas,
Told her to join him but could not send fees.
No money for cabin, she stayed on deck
And wrapped up her new-born snug to his neck.
A sudden squall struck: it pitched, rolled and yawed,
Tore loose her baby who washed overboard.
She saw the fate of the core of her heart,
And dived to save him from
She battled the swell and caught hold of him,
But saw the life in his eyes growing dim.
She held him close, but the force was too strong:
They went down together, water in lung,
Let out a sound that shuddered the ocean,
Whispered through water sacred words spoken,
Understanding that meets in a moment,
Present in all things, blending the instant,
Through space that holds atoms in harmony,
Stretching through time a common history.
And as they sank with the last of their breaths
They felt a force hurtle up from the depths.
Surging from under, it shot them both high
Till they broke surface and breathed in the sky.
For Ann’s young dolphin had sensed of their storm
And hauled them to harbour all safe and warm.
So always help those distressed in the sea
For past and present shape your destiny.
Stuart Larner
