My son loves dinosaurs, dragons and sharks.
They adorn his clothes, pillow cases, school labels and library bag.
They burst from his stories, imagined play and drawings.
We live in Western Australia, where there is currently a huge shark-related controversy.
For my son, these creatures are filled with beauty and mystique.
And I hope they always will be.
This poem is for him.
There’s a creature in the ocean
who swims with grace and ease
supple streamlined body
moving forward through the seas.
Its tail like a propeller-
swinging back and forth and so
pushing water past its fins
lifting upwards as he goes.
Paired fins move up or down-
water pressure ‘round them changes-
rising his body up
or down, away from dangers.
Sometimes I can imagine
him zooming at high speed-
racing through the coolness
with a smile, and a “wheeeeeeeeeeee!”
Or maybe when it’s late
he just c r u i s e s at his leisure
soaking in the rainbow sights-
toothy grin showing his pleasure.
A rumble in his tummy
means it’s almost dinner time-
an amazing sense of smell
makes food very easy to find!
Once full, he doesn’t eat again
for up to several days-
in the meantime, he just travels
and mingles with the rays.
Because this creature lives
deep down beneath the sea
there’s still so much that we don’t know-
their population a mystery!
When I grow big, I’m going to try
and learn some brand new things-
more facts about my favourite fish-
the ones with pointy fins.
 |
| A shark collage we made last year from newspaper scraps and coloured paper. |
