I learned recently that May 2nd is World Tuna Day. It’s all about trying to stop overfishing in the Pacific, which is a serious subject. But I was having a silly day, so my poem is far from solemn …
THE BALLAD OF A FISH
an eighteen-year-old tuna
while swimming the world
bumped into a schooner
whose sails were close-furled
thus tilting a crooner
with hair tightly curled
out of orbit solar & lunar
into one sandy and pearled
while the net-munching tuna
flicked fins and twirled
then dived that much sooner
through waves as they swirled
swimming happily under the moon a
bruised but much wiser young tuna
Art by Kennedy Banning
Those Blue Shoes for ages 7-11 … Weston’s … skill in juggling time past with time present … the plot unfolds with fast-paced action, mystery, suspense and even a ghost. Joan Givner