Whale Nation
The first sound a whale calf hears
Is Singing
The mother lifts her new-born calf to the surface,
And then rolls on her side,
Expressing her milk into its mouth with muscles deep inside her breasts:
Twice as rich in protein as human milk,
Richer than clotted cream.
The songs of their escorts
Filter through the water,
The element of baptism,
In which the whale calf is to be perennially immersed.
Should anything untimely happen to it,
Its mother will support her calf upon her back
Until it disintegrates.
Is Singing
The mother lifts her new-born calf to the surface,
And then rolls on her side,
Expressing her milk into its mouth with muscles deep inside her breasts:
Twice as rich in protein as human milk,
Richer than clotted cream.
The songs of their escorts
Filter through the water,
The element of baptism,
In which the whale calf is to be perennially immersed.
Should anything untimely happen to it,
Its mother will support her calf upon her back
Until it disintegrates.
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