Poetry: 'You Ask If We Were Fair To All Those Sailors' by Claire Walker

I wouldn’t say we lured them,
or coaxed them, like seals, to bob tricks
against their will, under a half-moon sky.

Our fable blew on prevailing winds, swept
to coastal ears, fed a harbour-full of minds.
In curiosity, they rowed offshore just for us.

Oh, how our eyes swam possibilities under their gaze.
Their feet followed our scales as if they could float,
heat rising from the deck as we bathed on cool rocks.

We roll waves in the palms of our hands,
hold a thousand fathoms of answers.
Look: Our tails sweep the horizon.