William Carlos Williams

The Sea-Elephant

Trundled from
the strangeness of the sea ——
a kind of
heaven ——
 
Ladies and Gentlemen!
the greatest
sea—monster ever exhibited
alive
 
the gigantic sea—elephant! O wallow
of flesh where
are
 
there fish enough for
that
appetite stupidity
cannot lessen?
 
Sick
of Aprils smallness
the little
leaves ——
 
Flesh has lief of you
enormous sea ——
Speak!
Blouaugh! (feed
 
me) my
flesh is riven ——
fish after fish into his maw
unswallowing
 
to let them glide down
gulching back
half spittle half
brine
 
the
trouble eyes ——torn
from the sea.
(In
 
a practical voice.) They
ought
to put it back where
it came from.
 
Gape.
Strange head ——
told by old sailors ——
rising
 
bearded
to the surface ——and
the only
sense out of them
 
it that woman’s
Yes
it’s wonderful but they
ought to
 
put it
back into the sea where
it came from.
Blouaugh!
 
Swing ——ride
walk
on wires ——toss balls
stoop and
 
contort yourselves ——
But I
am love. I am
from the sea ——
 
Blouaugh!
there is no crime save
the too—heavy
body
 
the sea
held playfully ——comes
to the surface
the water
 
boiling
about the head the cows
scattering
fish dripping from
 
the bounty
of . . . . and spring
they say
Spring is icummen in ——
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