Zoo / Putting on a Show
Janet Kuypers
11/24/17 (in Río Gallegos)
“I finally found a nice place to sleep on the ice,
close to the Southern Ocean. The warm air
comes up from the water, and the sun
reflects off the ice quite nicely. A perfect spot.
So let me just lay here and enjoy myself,
let me close my eyes, bask in the sun. But then
I hear a strange noise coming from the water,
and now above the water are fish that don’t swim,
but make the strangest noises I’ve ever heard.
Then I hear clicking noises from their floating
fish craft, and I just think, leave me alone.
This isn’t a zoo. I’m not putting on a show
for you. Just let me warm up in the sun.”
(from the perspective of a Weddell Seal at the Antarctic Islands,
as a Zodiac boat of humans sails nearby to photograph him)
|
