A Poet a Day 26: Celeste Thompson
Day 26 brings us Portland-area poet Celeste Thompson, with a poem entitled “Looking for Whales.”
THOUGHTS ABOUT THE POEM
After a day spent searching, the poem’s narrator settles back into evening only to spot what may or may not be a whale. It’s a question of faith, and Celeste brings us to the brink quite naturally.
Looking for Whales
On the troller Mr. Max, green swells
slap-fling us airborne for a split second.
Salt spray mists our lips, our hair,
and we grip the rails smiling,
searching. I scan the horizon for hours,
looking for the telltale spray
from the Gray Whale cow
and calf seen swimming in the area,
but we see nothing.
Later in our hotel room you ask for silence
while the cello plays Adagio in G Minor.
This is my favorite part.
Just then I look outside the window and see a spray,
or is it the surf hitting a rock?
I feel the warm thrill
of believing in something I can’t see below the surface.
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A Poet a Day is a month-long celebration of poets and poetry, in honor of National Poetry Month. Writers reserve all rights to their work, and all work appears with their permission.
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Tags: A Poet a Day, Celeste Thompson, National Poetry Month, Northwest poetry, Oregon poetry, Portland poet
there should be an anthology of whale poems. i just love them! think publishers would create an anthology for an audience of one?