Sunday, October 5, 2014

The Maldive Shark -- Herman Melville (1819-1891)


An oceanic white tip shark with pilot fish, Red Sea, Egypt

About the Shark, phlegmatical one,
Pale sot of the Maldive sea,
The sleek little pilot-fish, azure and slim,
How alert in attendance be.
From his saw-pit of mouth, from his charnel of maw
They have nothing of harm to dread,
But liquidly glide on his ghastly flank
Or before his Gorgonian head;
Or lurk in the port of serrated teeth
In white triple tiers of glittering gates,
And there find a haven when peril’s abroad,
An asylum in jaws of the Fates!
They are friends; and friendly they guide him to prey,
Yet never partake of the treat—
Eyes and brains to the dotard lethargic and dull,
Pale ravener of horrible meat.



1 comment:

  1. With all the Melville...
    Sounds like you need a fishing trip...

    Or, hye thee, to get shoved in a ye olde creeek...

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.