melville

a whale exploded on a truck in delaware the other day
but that was months ago.

whales are apparently not to be left in the sun.
we were understandably worried
when one showed up on the beach.

the coast guard came by
with umbrellas for everyone
but they didn’t expect so many people
so they passed out some ponchos
and then later garbage bags.

the whale burst but everyone had their eyes closed
and missed it but would probably not recount it that way
they were going over how to describe it from the sound
when someone walked up to what was left of the whale.

he said “i was adrift
i got swallowed by a whale
and buried with a mouth full of dirt
and dressed up as a horse and tackled to the ground
and earlier today i was swimming
in the bowels of my subconscious
struggling with the human condition
but there was a bee in my towel when i got out.
and i looked at it, and it looked at me.
and that was it.
i thought this was the whale
but i never got a good look at him.”