‘Like Me’

By Art of the Diver

Thu, 28 May 2015
  • 2420 reads
8 comments
 

The first whale that I saw made a huge impression upon my early childhood life. I was sitting on a cliff above the ocean when I noticed a young wright whale just below, watching me. He seemed as intrigued as I was; neither of us afraid or challenged by our respective views. I am sure he sensed the awe of the occassion I felt, as he spent nearly three hours showing off his natural swimming skills to me, perhaps expecting me to duplicate his moves. I remember feeling a sense of happy loss as he left for deeper waters, splashing his tail as if waving goodbye. I waved back in the hope that he would understand and know how much I appreciated meeting him.

For the following four days he returned to that spot and entertained me for hours with his warm, inquisitive antics of friendship. I was five years old and knew how special my whale friend was to me. I hoped that he considered the boy on the cliff above his friend and that like me, he remembered the things we had communicated to eachother, for the duration of his life. True story...

 

'Like Me'

 

Look at who has come to play here,

come from so far away to meet us

to declare his presence to our world

exploring this life’s journey; like me

 

I wish we could talk together

of the places we have both found

then I could tell you of things you’d like to see

and you could tell me how great your ocean world is

 

If you have come to share secrets found only below

then I will dream that I can swim with you

if you promise to like me too

Because as true friends, I know we can make it so…

                                                                     *~ Pearldiver ~

Copyright © 2015 Art of the Diver with all rights reserved.

Certificate 12
Poem
Those Small Things That Count
Children's
Nature
Miscellaneous
Autobiography

Comments

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Enjoyed the dreaminess, from a lovely incident. His view of the greatness of his ocean must be so different to the boy/adult's view and knowledge! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

How lovely, what a wonderful experience.

Submitted by Art of the Diver on

Hi Rhiannon,

Thank you for that, I agree completely... I don't think a whale's perspective will ever be considered or taken seriously by the majority of mankind until they have evolved to the point of having the ability to upload their own full whalecam video footage of their life stories onto youtube. :)

I wonder what their viewing rates would be if they conveyed their feelings on international whaling, pollution etc.  I've always felt blessed for having had the opportunity to 'meet' the 'right' whale so early in life, before I learned exactly how humans treat(ed) such magnificient creatures. Cheers for your positive and accurate comments... take care

Rob

Submitted by Art of the Diver on

Hi Philip,

Yes indeed and perhaps a life changing experience for me at least. About ten years ago I was lucky enough to have a similar, though closer encounter when night fishing, with a mother and baby Orca who came right up to and circled my 8 foot dinghy in the darkness. They stayed long enough for me to pat them both of them on the back and let them know I wasn't a takeaway seal dinner  :)

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on this piece... take care

Rob

Submitted by Bee on

What a longing is expressed here! Wordless communication to last a lifetime, and the possibility it could have a lifelong impact on both sides is something only a child could appreciate, I think, at least until we close our minds and feel superior as a species - which I doubt we are. A lovely encounter, wistfully remembered.

Bee

Submitted by Art of the Diver on

Hi Bee, yes the lifestyle that we lived as children was one of living in wild and beautiful places around the New Zealand coastline during my father's tenure as a senior keeper. For at least 5 years of his service, our family were the sole inhabitants bar wildlife, which I always considered 'tame' as they accepted us into their world. Nature seemed to be as well, providing the best classroom a feral child could ever hope to attend. Life and survival skills learned from about age 2  have lasted a lifetime. People find it hard to relate to, but it was a bit like Swiss Family Robinson in many ways... a thoroughly fantastic grounding in some places now deemed a paradise. Meeting creatures like this was one of the reasons my parents signed on the lighthouse service, this occassion was the first time I had done so alone and like many things, we never forget our firsts. I'm glad you liked this piece of a unique life without a need for materialistic or monetary aspects in it... I will finish my book on it one day... take care

Rob

Submitted by EB on

We are often unaware of the ways we touch each others lives, whatever the species.  

Submitted by Art of the Diver on

Yes absolutely EB you got that very important point in one. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment on this piece, I appreciate the your support... take care

Rob