Henry Israeli

Jonah

he didn’t know

if he was

in the whale

or if the whale

was in him

if he was white

or blue or high or low

he didn’t know

if he knew

or what he knew

if what he knew

was new

or if what he knew

was white or blue

he didn’t know

if he was talking

aloud or

in his head

or if the whale

was alive or dead

or in his head

he didn’t know

what he didn’t know

what he didn’t know

he knew

and back and forth

his thoughts flew

until the whale blew

and set him loose

and then he knew

he was alone

for no one came

to his rescue

he swam to shore

the sand was white

the sky was blue

at last he cried,

mon dieu, mon dieu,

je suis perdu.

 

 

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