Square Poems 25: Whale Acrostic Poem by Kim Barney

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The blue whale is the largest animal ever known to have existed. During the 20th century, the species was almost exterminated due to commercial whaling. The species has slowly recovered following the global whaling ban but it remains endangered and faces a number of serious threats including collisions with ships and the impact of climate change.

Blue whales are simply enormous with most ranging in length from 24-30 meters. The largest ever recorded was a gargantuan 33.5 meters long. Females are up to 10 meters longer than males.

They can weigh up to 200 tons. For comparison, an adult male African elephant weighs about 6 tons!

The blue whale's heart is the size of a small car and its beat can be detected two miles away. But that's nothing compared to their calls. Blue whales are the loudest animals on earth and their calls are louder than a jet engine: reaching 188 decibels, while a jet's engine hits 140 decibels.
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I call these square poems because they have the same number of syllables per line as there are lines in the poem. For example, a four-line poem would have four syllables per line, and a six-line poem would have six syllables per line.

This poem has five lines, so it has five syllables per line.

Square poems do not have to rhyme, and they do not have to be acrostics.

To see my other square poems with lower numbers from here, just keep clicking on the 'previous poem' button.

To see square poems with higher numbers, just keep clicking on the 'next poem' button.

10 December 2016