Homo delphinus

 

Build a temple to my fame

the god Apollo is my name

 

Fill your card shops with my face

let me be your only grace

 

Watch me bow-ride with your ships

star wide-eyed and smack your lips

 

Count the money that you’ll make

but beware, there’s much at stake

 

Make a net to catch some fish

cast it blind and make a wish

 

Throw the drift net from your bows

I swim along and then I drown

 

Catching all hat swims at sea

but be surprised that I’m not free

 

Herd my friends into the bay

I will follow every day

 

Cold young heroes laugh and look

then slash my skin with tender hooks

 

Infect me, wait for me to die

you’ll never see or hear me cry

 

Fishermen say I steal their prey

but I can feed no other way

 

So cut my flukes off with a knife

and then return back to your life

 

Hunt me down, yes, have your thrill

let eastern restaurants take their fill

 

Racer boys in big, fast boats

how you look so small afloat

 

You love speed and I love pace

how can you shoot into my face?

 

Lock me in a swimming pool

feed me fish and watch me fool

 

Hear my sonar bounce around

seeing things with waves of sound

 

Catch a fish without a hook

track them down without a book

 

Scientists don’t understand

my way of life away from land

 

A theory here, a worry there

you’ve seen my smile, I do not care

 

I’m never found with cancer growths

but never mind, you’ve made an oath

 

To use the world as you see fit

turn into cash the most of it

 

Release your poisons to the world

they’ll disappear in ocean’s swirl

 

But take a close look at my skin

it’s sore and red and blistering

 

See me when you go to sleep

but never let me make you weep

 

Think of me amid the blue

you only wish it could be you

 

Build a temple to my fame

come and swim, for life’s a game

man and dolphin are the same

the god Apollo is my name.

 

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