Tuesday 2 November 2010

On the Mortality of Seals

What is it that rends the seals, casts them corkscrewed ashore? The Scientists say it's some sort of propeller, but I will have no truck with that, with an answer so human and true. I would rather it were Skalugsuak, the sleeper shark, full fathom five with its wormridden eyes, centuries old and reeking of piss, biting bone-deep into the bias-cut blubber and nosing the corpses ashore. Or maybe the mermaids, holding their black-eyed lovers just a little too tight in their tooth-lined arms, their beaks fast in flesh as they spiral down to the ecstatic depths. Or is it me? Is that where I go at night, eeling through the abyss with my knife between my teeth? Is that why I wake up so salty and cold?

6 comments:

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  2. Thanks for the kitten, but it's sprouted three more tails yet, you can have it back. Takes up too much room...any chance of a nice dog? Unmutated.

    Wish I had teeth in my arms.
    Reading this I've become v. aware of my teeth in my mouth. Thanks for that too. Weird.

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  3. When did your writing become so frighteningly nautical? Are you reading Moby Dick?

    I have no problem with it, brilliance as always, Shark Week 4eva. You know.

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  4. Moominpappa at Sea. Gets me every time.

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