POETRY

The triumph of the squid

by Daniel Wright

"and I sat upon the sand of the sea
and saw a beast rise up out of the sea"
- Rev. 13:1

A fisherman, once, looked down
into the sea, and found
a great indifferent eye
considering the sky.

For centuries, they remained
shadows beneath the waves,
comfortable myths, sailors' tales.
But now we cannot deny
that something grapples with the whales
leaving suckered scars,
that there are green and silent wars
in the inner darkness of the Earth.

There is a forgotten story
that every thousand years they rise
from their deep silty bed
to play among the ice
and frolic in the Northern lights.

But now the ice is gone.
And one day soon, the giant squid
will raise itself up from the sea
and flit between the skyscrapers,
pause, and fix its eye upon the world
and you
and begin its mating dance.

This century will see
the triumph of the squid.