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Braying
and bawling
Smooth pastels of grey
Giant Croissants
of Seals on the Sand
Nudging
and nipping,
Lunging and shoving,
suddenly fall close
together in sleep
Flies
buzzing on faces,
flippers are scratching.
seawater glinting on fur,
blubber and bone.
Pudgy
weanlings lie sated,
yellow and gray, snuggling
and stretching,
playing tag in the sun
the tide
turns at midnight
off shore shapes looming
thousands of pounds
of danger arriving
Here we
come! Here we come!
Dark bodies rising from
Bubbles and foam. roaring
defiance, the bulls have arrived
Each
claiming his nook, defying
all others, slashing and bloodied
urging mates to his side.
constantly vigilant, ever on guard
Harried
and hurried the females
are gathered. Over the beach,
pups scattered wide, helpless
and hungry, small voices calling.
Unlucky
pups left bawling behind
others less agile lie crushed, and forlorn,
food for the seagulls,
washed away in the tide.
Winter
skies add their rain
storm waves are crashing
roaring and slashing
no time for sleep
the bulls
spend the hours in battle and breeding
heedless of wounds and no
time for eating.
Females
alert, bulls'
attacks unrelenting,
a new crop of seals is
now in the making!
Winter is
ending, the
waves are receding
into the sea, the bulls
are retreating.
Pregnant
and weary, the cows
welcome the ocean, close to their
sides, "weaners" in tow.
Home to the north, fish for them all
Surging
deep in the water,
bulls head for the west
females and young ones
call Alaska their home
Back on
the beach, a scene of
completion. Young seals are
peaceful, lying still in the sun ..
Shore birds are busy, picking small bones
The cycle
is finished,
peace comes to the strand
grasses turn brown and
winds stir the sands
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