A whale was bombed from the beach with the fury
Of dynamite charges. Pursuing the motion,
A judge threw harpoons at another; the jury
Was foamed with the blood of the beast from the ocean.
We tread in the liquid. A courtroom reporter
Is bouncing off walls from the blast of the spouting.
The penguins and pinnipeds caught on recorder,
Are leaping from cages to tackle the shouting
Defending attorney. Their legal adviser
Extends just a briefcase to fend off attackers,
Who tear at his face with their beaks and incisors.
The splintering furniture, coated with lacquer
All roils in the courthouse. A tide can't be swelling:
Can't vanquish the dockets—can't spill in the street—
To cover the city, its people, their dwellings
With drowning—like beaches, a scene of defeat.
“Japan rebuffed a threat by Australia to take Tokyo to court over its whaling in the Antarctic, saying on Friday that the annual hunts were permitted under international law and accusing the Australian government of exploiting the issue for political gain.”
– Hiroko Tabuchi and Mark McDonald, The New York Times, May 28, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/world/asia/29whales.html?src=mv
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