by Julia Griffin

“Whale with harness could be Russian weapon, say Norwegian experts”
—The Guardian

Wouldst thou draw out Leviathan?
I’m sure, if thou wouldst try,
’Twould have some purpose higher than
To use him as a spy.

What proof of men’s bizarreness is
This domineering yen
To wrap a whale in harnesses
To peer at other men!

With so much more to threaten us—
The climate’s worse each day—
It seems a trifle cretinous
To spend our time this way;

But still we go safari-in’
Through snow and ice and hail,
And find a Mata Hari in
A sore Beluga whale.