avatarNatalie Frank, Ph.D.

Summary

A marine mammal laments the sea's enchantment with the moon, feeling abandoned and vulnerable during the lunar-marine rendezvous.

Abstract

The narrative "A Leatherback’s Lament for Her Mother, The Sea" by Natalie Frank is a poignant reflection on the relationship between the sea and its creatures, particularly during the full moon. The leatherback turtle expresses a sense of betrayal as the sea, entranced by the moonlight, seems to forsake its inhabitants. The usual safety provided by the darkness is compromised, leaving the sea's denizens exposed to predators. The moon's light not only disrupts the nocturnal harmony but also silences the comforting whale songs that typically soothe the sea's children. The author captures the leatherback's yearning for the sea's protective embrace and the disquieting stillness that befalls the ocean during this celestial courtship.

Opinions

  • The leatherback feels a deep connection to the sea, considering it a maternal figure that sometimes seems to favor the moon over its marine inhabitants.
  • The moon's presence is perceived as a threat amplifier, as it illuminates the ocean and exposes marine life to predators.
  • The absence of the sea's rhythmic movements and whale songs during the full moon is mourned as a loss of comfort and security.
  • The leatherback experiences a sense of abandonment and isolation, drifting without the sea's usual supportive pressure.
  • The moon's relationship with the sea is described as a passionate and exclusive affair, leaving the marine life feeling neglected.

A Leatherback’s Lament for Her Mother, The Sea

A response to the microfiction prompt Your View of the Ocean and World as a Marine Mammal, by Greg Prince.

Image: bphelan on Pixabay

Why does the sea love the moon so, when she should love only us? Yet on nights when the moon descends into the very depths of our world to merge with her, it feels like we have been abandoned, betrayed. Our only safety from those larger than us, the ones with the big teeth used to rent and fins to guide their pursuit, lies in remaining hidden in the darkest shadows. When the moon comes to join the sea it’s as if it’s shining a huge light on us, pointing us out for all those who seek our flesh, or worse yet our young not yet old enough to swim quickly away.

And the sea? She seems to simply forget us in her love affair with that bright orb which has no place here. Even though I know it isn’t so, it’s like she draws away from us. The pressing pressure of her presence lets up and it feels as if I’ve been set adrift unable to remain tethered where I choose.

The soft bubbles are muted, not even the great whales call out nor do they sing to one another as they normally due, a lullaby for all of us, the sea our blanket tucking us safely in. The sea no longer kisses the shore, the regular rhythmic repetition that harmonizes with the whale song to lull her children to sleep, absent, the silence frightening in its stillness.

Instead she’s content to revel in the light of this love as it returns to her each month, having filled out it’s curves with a glow paler than the sun yet brighter than it has any business being. It reaches down to touch her, an intimate gesture, and wavers back and forth, a passionate renewal. The excited response is evident in the rhythmic ripples a seeming shiver, and testament to an eternity we cannot share.

Natalie Frank (Taye Carrol) has had work featured in Haunted Waters Press, Weirdbook Magazine, Siren’s Call Publications, Lycan Valley Press and Zero Fiction among others. Her poetry has been featured a several anthologies. She is the Managing Editor for Novellas and Serials at LVP Publications.

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You can also find links to all of the articles, stories, fiction and poetry I publish on Medium here. Thanks for reading!

Fiction
Flash Fiction
Microfiction
Poetry
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