Inwhale

 



I wasn’t swallowed by a whale
I was inhaled
inwhaled
I live in the lung of the whale
whale’s lungs are the largest lungs in the world
my twin was also inhaled and he lives
in the second lung
we speak by singing
we tried thumping messages against the lungs’ walls
but they were too distant 
the whale’s chest is enormous
and so we sang
first one then the other
my voice coming from the whale’s mouth
then my brother’s
did you hear that?
a voice
has our sister been swallowed
is she in the belly of the whale
is she singing too?
are we three swimming with the whale
midnight deep
where creatures make their own light
my brother says
the whale will come up for air
my sister says
the whale must come up for air
I say
soon it will become light in here
but only for a moment
 


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Elee Kraljii Gardiner sent me a post by artist Laura Kerr referring to the lungs of the blue whale. Whales are mammals like us, but there is something inspiring, otherworldly, planetary about how large they are and how the things that they do (like breathe) is both like and unlike us. And the fact that live in regions so foreign and mysterious. Also, they have songs and they communicate across vast distances. How they communicate, are alone, travel in pods. Their lung volume is around 5000L, about 1000x a human lung, and enough air to inflate about 2000 balloons! The 5000L of air in the lungs can be replaced in around 2 seconds.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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