Poem: I’ve Never Seen A White Whale

I’ve travelled the world, laced

by oceans and rivers nearly forgotten.

Sometimes I keep track of failure

by all the shores I’ve passed.

I have never seen a white whale,

nor wondered why I haven’t

before now—a small fish

in an anonymous, massive pond.

So when I’m weary of illusions,

verse a blank sweep across

my page or mammoth’s back,

I thrust my pen like a harpoon

into anything grey, pretending

dun is white, life is lovely and infinite.

This article appears in February 2016.