Michael Shorb

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Whale Walker's Morning

Few records survive of the whale walkers
Of the 19th Century.
Primarily American, with a scattering of
Dutch, Greek, and African,
Whale walkers based around the
Boston-Nantucket area once
Numbered in the hundreds.

They counted the Joseph's coat,
The Minoan seed pearl and
The harmonica of the Indo-European
Virgin among their lineage.

Unlike their leaner-visaged brothers of the harpoon
They staked their eliteness to light about
The feet, an ear tuned to a keening wind,
A finer sense of balance.

Of their concrete origins in sea crossings,
Tribal dances and the strut of mountain
Axemen not much more is known.
Some have linked them to rites among
The Phoenicians, to gypsies of the Asian
Steppes, to the tree at the edge of the world
In Nordic mythology, to intimates of the migration
Routes and open country roads of earth.

Of whale walking itself a little more is known.
Both ancient brass tint photographs and early
Oil paintings exist, though these provide no doubt
A dusty geometry of the total picture.
A few famous individuals: Nordo the Aborigine,
Jack Clappe, and Cavebear Eddie, followed
The practice of having their first walked whale
Tattooed on their chest.

At any rate, reliable depositions of the time
Attest to the existence of large whale herds
Which often made hours of uninterrupted
Whale walking possible. Observed from a distance,
It resembled a kind of aquatic dance, to which
A number of variations existed.

The necessity of timing whale walking sessions
To coincide with periods just after early
Feedings along migration routes,
Coupled with the necessity of near perfect
Weather conditions led to the adoption
Of the popular turn-of-the century phrase:

"It's a whale walker's morning,"
Or, variously, "A whale walker's morning
To you and yours."

Copyright (C) Michael Shorb, 2006. All rights reserved.