they died moaning the structure
of their skins failed
as I sat above
the sea in a human space
white chairs white gravel
a high Hellenic shore
they came out of the sea
the whales bloated with water
moaning a terrible noise the sea
emptying of whales
the only survivors were babies
in the dream these babies had fur
saved by brown fur
we were going to have to care
for them now their mothers
were corpses it happened
the same night I saw
the rockets
there was a war
thereʼs always a war
two or three seas away
gunships submarines at
each other but
as I sat above
the sea in a human space
white chairs white gravel
a high Hellenic shore
they came out of the sea
just there
in the bay two rockets
shot out of the sea
a terrible noise
flew as high as a skyscraper
faltered turned
dived burning
into the sea it happened
the same night the whales
she said it was caused
the marine biologist
in her blue-piped khaki
overall said with her brown
ponytail said when I asked
no
itʼs not just here
itʼs global
all the whales
the whole world
at the same moment
it was caused
by the war she said
From A coat of ashes
Jackson 