it is not perhaps
our greatest crime
hardly worth mentioning amongst
all the heinous acts of pollution
oil spills and melting
ice caps but
we have also stolen the silence
from under the waves
the whales that live here cannot
recall a life without the constant
drone of cruise ship motors
which have turned their ocean
into the kind of noise box
familiar to anyone
who ever tried to have
a conversation in a crowded night-club
there’s no room for nuance
when communication means
someone shouting something
over a background din
knowing that whether or not
they will be understood
is left up to the guesswork
of lip reading
these past months of the human pandemic
marked the first time the whales
were granted the bliss
of real stillness
their listening
laced with wonder
scientists believe their language
will change now
hydrophones have been installed
to pick up the altered
songs born from silence
allowing for new complexity
their first poetry
- Packing advice for the one who is leaving - 18th February 2022
- Name Change - 14th November 2021
- the silent sea - 2nd August 2021