Well, those who have been around long enough KNOW about my slight shark obsession. I believe it has mellowed with age. Slightly. However, after hearing that over at dVerse Poets Pub they were serving up a very sharky poetry prompt…well I had to make the time and space to whip something up. So…this is fresh (might even be a bit of seaweed) from the keyboard, spontaneous as a shark bite- so I hope I won’t be devoured if this quick poem written on a Thursday morning doesn’t make the mark! It was a fun write, and I do miss showing up at this amazing place on the world wide web. Thanks to Mom with a Blog for this near and dear to me prompt!
A Brief History of Shark Love (from a safe distance, sorta)
6th grade, Science class, I chose the Brain,
but the kid who picked sharks had me
from the first flash of the toothy grin
I’d hold dear for all my future years
It remains unclear why, but this massive
love for the mighty predators of the deep
grabbed my heart and mind with a
firm grip, I still can’t explain
the poster over my bed from the kids
book club of a menacing mass, with
black eyes staring straight ahead-
hovering in the deep ocean, hovering
over my dreams-an image I still see clearly
why wasn’t I satisfied with the Bay City Rollers,
Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett teen magazine
centerfolds but instead fell for this foreboding
monster of the sea, some kind of beast to my
12-year-old imagined beauty?
The deep end of the pool after seeing Jaws
never was safe from my imagination-
this love, fear relationship took hold of me
And dreams of heartthrobs turned to
dreams of shark cages and shark adventures
which never were brought to reality
Living on the Atlantic coast, five minutes from
the call of open water, I still never enter
that green, foamy, clear world without
scanning the surface, looking for shadows
before submerging myself, never really trusting
what I can’t see- what I know lurks beneath
the surface, after all- it is their home.
PS-I’ll be back with a prompt later for Summer Journal for those looking for that- it could be sharky in nature as I had planned to tackle that myself! AND I will be heading back to dVerse to read my fellow poets sharky offerings later as I am off to work!
Thanks for reading!
Enthusiastically, Dawn
Enthusiastically, Dawn 
5 responses to “A Brief History of Shark Love (from a safe distance, sorta)”
“why wasn’t I satisfied with the Bay City Rollers,
Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett teen magazine
centerfolds but instead fell for this foreboding
monster of the sea, some kind of beast to my
12-year-old imagined beauty?”
I don’t know, but I can’t say that I blame you!
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Fabulous poem. I can’t say I became obsessed with sharks but Jaws filled me with the same angst about the ocean. I am obsessed with African land animals though 💕
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Also obsessed about the African land animals but as an adult more recently. And if I try to pick a favorite – I can’t because there are too many and each holds its own unique charm ! Thanks for commenting.
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An obsession to be proud of – really enjoyed this piece Dawn ❤️
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Dawn, I can’t think of a more powerful protector totem than a shark. I bet the nightmares stayed away with the poster over your bed.
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