“Songs of Nocence”

 

an autobiography: northwards

  

  

Whale V1.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

This is the first edition, 25th December 2009
 

Published by justWords limited,
 

30A St James Place, Mangotsfield, Bristol  BS17 3JB  UK
 

Registered in England  2984663.
 

http://www.justwords.demon.co.uk
 

Orderline: athais@justwordslimited.co.uk

 

 

ISBN 978-1-901382-07-5

Copyright © justWords Limited

 

Designed, produced & managed by AThaiS Limited

 

Bureau services and advice: Skriptorium Ltd,

6 Lower Park Row, Clifton, Bristol BS1 5BJ UK

 

Printed & bound in Great Britain by MWL Digital Solutions Ltd,

Unit 13, Pontyfelin Industrial Estate, New Inn, Pontypool, NP4 0DQ

 

  

The moral rights of the author, Thomas Albert Fox,

are asserted in accordance with the

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

 

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

  

justWords is a new diasporas micropublisher

  

Cover illustration by Siriluck Kedseemake

ÀҾ˹éÒ»¡ÇÒ´â´Â  ÊÔÃÔÅÑ¡É³ì  à¡µØÈÃÕàÁ¦

From an idea by Thomas Albert Fox

  

The Whale
To explain the nature of fishes in craft of verse‑
And first, the Great Whale.  A grim purpose is his;
Mariners often find him against their will

Floating on eternal ocean.
His name is Fastitocolon,
His coat is like rough stone,
Like a huge sea-knot of wrack, ringed with sand-dunes,
That floats by the shore.
Now when the wave-borne men trust their eyes for an island,
And moor their high-beaked ships to the fraudy shore,
Tether their sea-horses at the brink of the ocean
And roam up the island to explore:
While the keels lie at the tide-mark
The tired sailors make their camp,
They wake a fire on the Island,
Happy are the men, and tired‑glad to encamp.
But he is crafty and treacherous; when he feels
The travellers properly planted and set

Taking the pretty weather‑
 

Instantly down
Darts the oceanic animal,
And locks drowning in the hall of death
Both ships and souls!