Beached Whale

I learnt the news over the phone
My job no longer existed
I was no longer required, terminated
An extra body in an organization
That was going places except without me
I went walking to clear my head
Seeking to find the answer
As to what to do next

I watched the waves washed up to the shoreline
While I wallowed in melancholy
Sorrow for what I had become
A statistic of a hostile takeover
My services no longer desirable
I felt washed up like the flotsam and jetsam
That strewed the beach

A barking dog attracted my attention
Momentarily I looked his way
And lying on a waters edge
Was something big and grey?
Huge even at 100 metres away
I wondered if I should venture forth
And I am so forever glad I did
For I witnessed the most wondrous thing
A little whale beached on the sandy shore
A long way from home, stranded on the slippery sands
Suddenly an eye opened and looked straight at me
And it blew hot hair my way
Proof that it was not dead but breathing
From that brief meeting of the eye
I knew that he was asking me
To get him out of trouble

Disregarding my own needs
I sprung into action and grabbed its tail
And heaved with all my might
Into the raging surf pounding the beach
And Lo and behold the creature floated
Whilst I struggled to stay Upright in the surf,
The waves trying to engulf me
I spluttered with the rising tide
And pushed again with all my might
As if he heard me, the little fella went upright
Wiggled its tail and straightened out
Heading out to sea, to deeper waters
Exhausted but exultant
I watched it swim away from me
That was the last I saw
of that little whale

Kaci Tami