Oh Tursiops truncatus so dear

A small poem written by Earthwatch volunteer Glenda Booth after her dolphin experience in Vonitsa, Greece (September 8th, 2009).


There once was a man named Joan,
Who rose when still the dew on,
‘Cause dolphins he chased,
Round the sea in a race,
As intently his gum he chewed on.

There once was a girl named Aina,
As pretty as Princess Diana,
She worked like a slave,
Till she fell in her grave,
‘Cause dolphins to her were not minor.

The team sails out at sunrise,
Half awake and with so blurry eyes,
On a search far and near,
For sea creatures so dear,
And with nary a hope for a prize.

The sun it beats down very hot,
The boat heaves and flops quite a lot,
We can hardly hold on,
We cringe and we moan,
But they push us until we drop.

Our captain he yells and he screams,
As we think of wine and ice cream,
“Look one to three,
And not at your knee,
You’ve missed 20 dolphins I’ve seen!”

“Sit down, stand up”, he commands,
“look here, look there, all around.
Don’t pull any stunts,
Do it all, all at once,
And don’t behave like a clown”.

Six dolphins, they jump at seven,
And six more, they dive at eleven,
Their fins have some nicks,
As if beaten by sticks,
I know we will see them in heaven.

They demand reliable data,
Like how and when did he mate her?
How long was the dive?
Their calves, four or five?
Is his fin like a flattened potato?

Our lovely assistant is cool,
She knows and obeys every rule.
She ties all the ropes
And tugs all the floats, A
nd ensures that we are not fools.

We drag our butts home all hot,
We yearn to escape the despot,
“Oh no, onward team!
There’s more in our scheme,
For now we must dot and crop!”

Oh Tursiops truncatus so dear,
For you we will give many years,
And sacrifice all,
To answer the call
When Joan and Aina want us near.

Glenda Booth