by Julia Griffin

For Mary; after Ben Jonson

“Scientists [in 2013] showed that Ronan, a resident of the Long Marine Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz,
was the first nonhuman mammal who could be trained to keep a beat, including moving in time with music. …
Researchers recently decided to test the 15-year-old sea lion’s skills again and showed that not only had she improved
her ability to bob her head in sync with beats, but she is even better than most humans at doing so.” 
—The New York Times

Come, my Sea Lion, let us prove
How a flap-eared head can move.
Time will not be ours forever;
Timing, though, is always clever.
Spend not, then, your gifts in vain:
Though you lack a human brain,
Still your head deserves a crown
As it’s bobbing up and down.
Why should we withhold our cheers?
Though you’ve reached, in human years,
Fifty-odd, your whiskers’ whirl
Proves you still have got it, girl;
Judging from your Facebook views,
You’re the craze of Santa Cruz.
Oldies all, discard your fear!
Ronan’s better every year,
First non-human on the scene:
Pinnipedal Bouncing Queen.