for Nathan Shepherdson
(i)
from below
their white belly
merges with light,
falling electric snow.
penetration slowed
down; a fast bullet
enters & exits a pane
of glass falling with
honey’s spoon grace.
a snowflake melds
with its blizzard
until indivisible from
the surface it melts;
water’s countershade.
(ii)
all quiet under ocean.
sound trapped, insect
in amber. ears useless,
ground down tiny over
millennia, gills not slitting
into bones until a noise’s
speed no longer makes
distance in the blue world.
salt water is not ocean
as is tasted. a fluid
battery sends electrical
pulses. charges fish
until solar panel scales
spark with energy.
(iii)
they can detect auras.
smell the diffused signals
borne by water molecules
that spread, a tarot deck
of hunger sliding across
the sea’s dinner table;
conjure up a red future.
one drop of blood
in a million parts of
water, they will come
if the wet wind blows
in the right direction.
they can find a clear
contact lens on a glacier.
(iv)
their snouts are Franklin’s
perpetual kite experiment.
blows from a cobbler’s
hammer have dented
their heads, they hunt
by electricity, they detect
tiny ball lightning in
a fishes’ berry-sized
muscles. the ocean
a liquefied grid, a
field of nippy particles.
lorenzini’s ampullae;
an apex predator’s
lightning rod.
(v)
industrial strength
candle-coloured bags,
thin bakelite purses
that clutch to the sides
of reefs & shoals; amber
necklaces that decorate
a current’s sinewy neck.
membranous births,
embryonic fluid ruptures
spills into a greater sac.
longlines’ jagged teeth
hook young, a by-catch.
fin’s reverse fontanelle,
the flesh doesn’t heal.
(vi)
times past skin wore teeth
& dorsal fins radar shaped.
devolution; toothed frames
shrink to denticles that spray
on skin, rough plaster walls
disrupt borders between shark
& ocean. they grasp seawater
glove-fast & torpedo bodies
slip through tension breaks.
blademasters skills honed
by sticky shark grips & fine
cut leather boots. ‘shagreen’
sandpaper from dog-fish
polished ships’ best wood.
(vii)
bicycle reflector jammed behind
retina boosts night vision. military
goggles worn by elite frogmen see
colour at depths where none exists.
ten times light collects on apertures;
pollen clings to a bee’s leg. ghosts
rise from midnight zone’s dusky
graveyard. sharks descend coffin
straight; spiracles pump salty water
direct injection into eyes & brain.
oxygen thins in reverse atmosphere.
black space weightlessness, bodies
equalised with gravity share joint
stuff. five gill slits blow curtains.
(viii)
lateral lines sweep seas;
mine detectors beep
when objects grow denser.
surfboard seal cut-outs
mimic flippers & fibreglass
duende. submerge, caudal fins
flex, a giant’s fist pump &
cartilage tuning forks vibrate
through shafts as taste buds
tricked. first bite for info.
next bite for keeps. jaws
realise mistakes, head bang
& tear at war music. third
eyelid shuts in mute defence.
(ix)
abundant blood, dining
room prey, erratic finger
movement wags in their face
during pelagic mealtime.
they take it personally &
mouth opens in warning.
cave stalactites’ cusps, sharp,
pointed; muscles rise to
the threat & predators
face off, frenzied speech
no participant remembers.
brains overload on slight.
flesh liquefaction, then
whirlwind unwinds its passion.
(x)
the roof goes. convertible
fins sheared, corrugated sheds
in cyclone. farmer marked,
long queues slide into salty dip,
tails fall into bloody bucket.
a torp’s dead weight when
engines stall. steerage gone,
sleek fuselage dips, downed
sydney minisubs & pacific
planes sink into an abyss.
production lines hook a
dark future; their broods
human length; kursk sailors
clench rusted wrenches.
(xi)
forty somethings’ fear
spawned seventies celluloid
gore fantasies. knee-high,
parents don’t swim further,
their children human shields
for angstcination. in breakers,
still water, unlucky death roils.
spearfisher, snorkeler, sponge
-diver, pearl-grabber, surfer-dude,
bather. tire-tread scars run over
backs, sand depressions don’t
blow away. nets & baited hooks
map annually the kill count war.
one hundred million jaws close.