Two poems
by Menkit Prince, March 2005
I am the baby harp seal
so pure and white on the ice
Terror-stricken
I do not understand why
These scowling humans beat me
with such anger
and rip the skin from my flesh
in a nightmare of searing agony
What did I do wrong?
Where is my mommy?
Please someone help me!!!
I hear the shrieking of thousands
also babies
echoing around me
puncturing the arctic silence
once so serene
now eerie and stark
like an ice hell
as i slip away
from this mass torture.
I am the mother seal
watching helplessly
churning with unfathomable
rage, grief and
fear
a fear more terrible than what my baby feels
as these ferocious ones slaughter my baby
my baby - where is my baby?
I see only unrecogniseable pulp
still warm, now red
on the ice
I feel the night grow colder, darker
than ever before.
I am the captain of Sea Shepherd
feeling the extreme pain and terror of the baby harp seals
and the anguish of the mothers
as my own.
Driven by love, compassion and pity for the animals
and righteous rage against the uncaring sealers
I steer through deadly icy waters
risking everything for my love.
I am the crew of Sea Shepherd
Impassioned by what we have seen
inspired by the courage and dedication
of our leader
we go to treacherous lands
knowing full well we may perish
but gladly for the cause
gladly for the seals
each harp seal is precious to us
one by one we try our best to help.
I am the seal hunter
with a job to do, damn it!
so please shut up baby seal!
I don't want to hear your wailing
I don't want to hear your pitiful screaming
that sounds so much like a human child
and makes me more angry,
more in a rush to get it over with.
The more you scream little seal
the harder I beat you,
not daring for a moment to stop
to acknowledge how I really feel.
Spurred on by my camrades,
fellow seal hunters,
desperately believing only real men do this.
Locked into a lifetime of cruel thinking
a culture of heartlessness
for thousands of years
we have done it this way
Our heritage has made us efficient killers
and we are proud of it.
How dare you question us!
Don't block us or we will kill you too
seal lovers!
How will the baby understand
why its life just begun
was ripped away from it?
How can the mother forget
the sound of her baby's terrified screaming
calling its mother to protect it?
Every cell in her body wanting desperately to help
but having no power to stop the madmen
who quickly turn on those mothers
who rush at them
barking hysterically for mercy.
How can the angelic fleet
valiantly coming to the rescue
who so love and cherish
these beautiful animals
ever forgive the sealers' sheer brutality?
Can they feel compassion
not only for the seal but also for
the seal hunters?
Do they understand the inexorable law
karma
and the terrible price these callous men
must pay in future lifetimes
over and over
until they learn?
When will the sealer awaken
from his dream of denial
self-hatred
and endless justifications
for cruelty?
When will he see the big picture
not just his own view?
When will he repent
feel remorse
from the core
and respect every living thing
affording them
the same right to happiness
as he himself wants?
I am the ocean
heaving
sighing
birthing new life
cradling it as it dies
ebb and flow
on and on ....
DARK NIGHT
In the midst of being
Out of nowhere
I feel a wave of dark dread
The clocks ticks
The satanic massacre has begun again on the ice
Propelled instantly I am there
One with the living, bleeding heart
I feel the Sea Shepherd crew's pain
I see what they see
I feel the seals' pain
I see through their eyes
Sucked into the sick feeling
Like a manhole ging to a vast sewer
I weep and sob without restraint
Immersed in grief and inconsolable pain
Like a drop of water merging with the ocean
And as I weep I see a wave of weeping brothers and sisters
All across the planet
Who love the seals just like me
And feel the same heart-wrenching agony
I wish - oh how I wish -
It was me being shot by those sealers
Being revived only to be shot
Over and over -
Feeling the skin carved from my flesh
In sheer burning agony
And in return the lambs of God were free and safe
Suckling their greatly relieved mothers
I would do it so gladly to spare them -
If only I could - if only.
Tears subside - I feel strong again
Fire fills my veins
Renewing my determination
Giving me indestructible fortitude
Ready to fight all odds
Do whatever it takes.
Forge on, eco-warriors!
This is the darkest night of your life.
