The King Of Whales Poem by Leighton J Rees

Red ants march militantly through the streets
Under the brutal sun a pig corpse heats and a thousand flies have made their church inside

In the tower a raven stands alone in a cell
A futile stay, his wings have long been broken

Further along under the clear sky, upon one of many dead buildings and boarded view hotels stands a stick thin man, almost naked and dripping crimson
He stands on the edge, looks across the town and begins to shout

"I am The King of Whales, I do not rest, I cannot be defeated. One day I shall return to the sea and my scars and sins will wash away."

The words fall upon his ghost audience
If people heard they would only disregard them as the ramblings of a mad man

On silk draped horses the guards arrive, two toothless men so fat with sin they will never be reborn again with a chance
Yet they hold a speck of power so for the moment they can laugh

They are only here to check upon the raven
To make sure he remains mute
To make sure he keeps breathing until his punishment is through

The bulls storm through the town and disappear as quickly as they arrive

Everything shakes

The people wake,
they remain in their rooms

Each room contains a soul that fear stole
and a body not yet wise enough to die
Hope barely breathes beneath the sheets
aware and already missing the safety net of dreams that promised tomorrow would be different

She woke and it's all the same

The only voice brave enough to speak
The stick man continues his speech
He knows he's never been silenced because they decided long ago he was insane

"follow me, follow me
We can return to the sea together,
run away
Run! or stay and remain broken"

Stopping inside his mind he remembers
How he used to wear a crown
How he used to float above the clouds upon a whale of blue
He sits
He sighs and wonders when the worms will turn


The raven who once sang so sweetly
turns away and closes his eyes

A hundred miles away the sea waits
cool
calm and patient
to be used as a home,
a stage

It's been a long time,
the wait will go on

all that is needed is an open mind, courage
and for you to be ready

The sea glistens and remains patient