26 March 2025

SALTWATER AND WHALES

 


We are a rock revolving
Around a golden sun
We are a billion children rolled into one
So when I hear about the hole in the sky
Saltwater wells in my eyes 

We climb the highest mountain
We'll make the desert bloom
We're so ingenious we can walk on the moon
But when I hear of how the forests have died
Saltwater wells in my eyes 

I have lived for love
But now that's not enough
For the world I love is dying
And now I'm crying
And time is not a friend (no friend of mine)
As friends we're out of time
And it's slowly passing by ....right before our eyes 

We light the deepest ocean
Send photographs of Mars
We're so enchanted by how clever we are
Why should one baby feel so hungry she cries?
Saltwater wells in my eyes...

We are a rock revolving
Around a golden sun
We are a billion children rolled into one
What will I think of me the day that I die
Saltwater wells in my eyes...

                       ~Julian Lennon

Friends, this is one of my favourite songs, and it always brings me to tears. It is the song
I would like sung at my graveside. 

You all know by now how much grief I carry for the natural world and the wild ones,
as the climate crisis accelerates, and is continued to be ignored by those in control.

This song is played at the end of Julian Lennon's beautiful documentary: Whaledreamers,
a film he produced in Australia some years ago. He invited indigenous elders from all over the world to come together and share their wisdom. Then they all gathered at a spot on the high cliffs where, through all of time until they were displaced, an aboriginal whaledreaming tribe sang the whales into the bay. The elders spoke of the threatened survival of the whales, ancient creatures of vast intelligence, who carry wisdom far greater than ours.

The group sang. They waited, uncertain the whales would come. And then...the whales swam into the bay, to great cheers of joy. That ancient memory still lived within the whale population,  as it had also been passed down through generations of  elders.

One of the most moving films ever.

This week, I leave the prompt wide open. Write whatever comes up for you when you listen to this song or read these words. I look forward to reading your poems.

Please check back for late linkers. The Linky closes Sunday evening.







12 comments:

  1. Good morning, poets! It's lovely to think of the whales being sung into the bay. I live on a whale highway, here on the West Coast of Canada, and grey whales and orcas pass by frequently, always a joy and a blessing to see them. We have two new baby orcas this spring, very wonderful news! I look forward to whatever this prompt brings forth in you - salt water can also be tears, and heaven knows there must be enough of those going on in these crazy times.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like Julian Lennon's music. I especially like "Love Don't Let Me Down" from his "Jude" album.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love his music, too. I hear an echo of his father's voice in his songs.

      Delete
  3. What a beautiful song to inspire us, Sherry! Thank you for an evocative prompt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's nothing like a good song to stir the heartstrings.

      Delete
  4. This is a wonderful song and prompt! Thanks for the inspiration and his father's song played in the backdrop of my mind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mine, too, True. I hear echoes of his father in Julian's voice.

      Delete
  5. Your beautiful prompt came at me in the middle of vacation, Sherry. I borrowed my cousin's laptop when a poem emerged today, but won't have time to read and comment on everyone until home again the first week of April. I will visit, though. Count on it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan, how I adore your poem. I appreciate you taking the time, on vacation, to link, and was so impacted and heartened by your beautiful poem.

      Delete
  6. What beautiful words. Being in the dumpster rental industry, I go into a lot of homes and I see a lot of inspiring words/poems. This is up there with all of them. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete