“Stubb recounts the killing of a whale, to his shrink.” by Ivor Daniel

The red tide poured from every side.

I call my shrink and ask - 'when are you free?'

A tormented body rolled in blood and brine.

There seems to be a problem with the line.

So tense, engaged, and pulling taut.

The red tide poured from every side.

Now, on the couch, I lie as prone as death.

Its trauma, heart and pulse quite out of sorts

the monster horribly wallowed in his blood.

And whalemen oftentimes misunderstood

their ties with nature and the deep.

A red tide poured from every side.

‘The trouble is, I cannot sleep'.

* Stubb is the Second Mate on whale ship ‘The Pequod’ in Moby Dick,

the novel by Herman Melville.

(Lines in red are verbatim Melville, or close to. Lines in blue by Ivor Daniel).