Whale watching

I always want to go on a whale watching trip whenever I get the chance,  and this trip off the North Coast of Iceland did not disappoint.  A comment from a crew member stuck with me: You watch the whale, but it also watches you.  


Whale watching

The joy is in the anticipation,
The hope that this time they will come to us:
That's what we tell ourselves. 
But when the dolphins arrive, 
Mob-handed, with their toothy smiles,
Enthusiastic clicks and squeaks, 
Racing in the bow wave, leaping, 
Diving under the boat, giving us all a front row seat, 
Performing for the hell of it,
We know the joy is in the encounter, 
The exhilarating meeting of a species
So familiar, so unknown.

The fleeting sighting of minke whales,
Distant, black shapes, aloof, stand-offish,
Is almost an anti-climax. 
Almost.  


© Copyright 2026. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved.

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