“So may you help me at once,
Big blue whale of the open ocean?”
And once henceforth he placed me on his back
And showed me all the seven seas while I craned atop him
Feeling the wind and feeling the breeze and feeling the waves
“Where would you want to be?”
I wish I could tell you where I wanted to be
Yet I could not decide so henceforth I asked the albatross that perched on the shore
“So may you help me at once,
Big black bird of the sky?”
And he let me between his wings
And showed me all the seven continents while I was under his wing
Feeling the wind and the breeze and the land beneath me
“Where would you want to be?”
I wish I could tell you where I wanted to be
Yet I could not decide so henceforth I asked the wolf that marched the places
And he let me feel the mire that crunched beneath my feet
How unnatural it felt to be, feeling something under me,
How I missed the waves and wind rolling by my skin
“Where henceforth do I want to be?”
I see a vision of black skin like rubber and blubber
That rolls beneath the waves like a natural patrol
With a voice so strong and a heart so big
But it has already been decided for me too long ago
All the animals look upon me as the ape
With the skin of sand and heat
And hair like grains of rice—I find myself its farmer
And limbs I can use to manipulate
But yet, I ask to myself again and again
“Where henceforth do I want to be?”
And all the animals tell me I am an animal
One that is the most fearless yet the weakest
With its weak jaws and frail claws
And a body as weak as the mire I stood upon
“What is it, do I need, to be the very one I want to be?”
I ask to myself, I find no answers
The call of the albatross falls silent
He does not have the answer.
The song of the whale pauses
He does not have the answer.
So I look to the wolf—his howl strong
“What is there in me that was the one I wanted to be?” I ask
He shuts, and he looks to me
“I do not know the answer,” He tells me,
“But your voice must wander in a world of silence.”
