Whalien, Whale And Alien -

Issue 12

Whalien, whalien, do you know
  That you are a metaphor?
 
We took your ocean of solitude,
 Fashioned from its vast depths a mirror
For our own puddles of loneliness -
 Dubbed you whale-alien. Our wave-skewed
Lights never have fallen upon your
 Self; you are named for the eeriness
Of your call: whale, for its closest kin;
 Alien, for they too are deaf to it -
 
Whalien, whalien, do you know
  What we are using you for?
 
We heard you, yes, but did not listen -
 Save to singular echoes that fit
Our own bleak hearts, learnt only to fill
 Your mouth with human words. Would you smile
Would you fume, would you shrug? Would you still
 Call, if you saw us skulk all the while?
 
Whalien, whalien, do you know
  That you are a metaphor?

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Hibah Shabkhez is a writer and photographer from Lahore, Pakistan. Her work has previously appeared in Penine Platform, Rust and Moth, Think Journal, The Font, The Raven's Muse Magazine, and a number of other literary magazines.

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