When I am five, I become a whale. I have to close
my eyes. I have to be in the water, your hand in
mine. Beneath the wave, we both shed our human
skin. Our bodies become large. In the water, we are
eternal. As whales, the matter of us matters more.
Shakes the earth. Slips through the ocean. When
we die, we’ll make whole ecosystems, forge new
homes for other living creatures. If this isn’t the
way to die, then what is? But no, enough of that.
Our deaths are so far off. For now, just listen. Feel
the salt of the ocean on baleen skin. The caverns
within us, the song building in our throats.