Poet's Corner

WHALE MEAT AGAIN (IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE)

19-11-2007

It looks like humpbacked whale is on the menu again as the Japanese whaling fleet sets forth for the Antarctic. They'll no doubt be carrying out "research" into the beautiful songs of these wonderful creatures and not just killing them for food. Oh no. Brendan Hawthorne leads the lament

All in the name of science

and who's counting?

It's votes and cash that

drive the harpoons

deep into

ocean salt-flesh

The migrating herds

of humpbacks

harvest their rights

before lowing in

exploding blood pools

like their Minke kin

Their combined cries

sent cannoning through

white-crested waves

before dying in agony

in two minutes

or sixty

In the name of science

who's counting?

In the name of science

why can't someone

record the screams

of injured

frightened whales

and listen to them

over and over again?

Play them on

continuous loop in

Northern European and

Far Eastern supermarkets

to quell the demand

reduce the appetite

for pre-packed steaklets

blubber and ambergris

Let's ban the use

of grenade-tipped harpoons

and callous expeditions

in the name of science

If you must hunt

in the name of science

develop a sense

of humanity

of accountability

and culpability

for we share one planet

Count it

In the name of science

Copyright Brendan Hawthorne 2007