By: Chuck Orloski

That day in the Mediterranean Sea,
Jonah took leave of the whale belly
and exited his reconnaissance trance.
Upon surfacing, the USS Liberty afire,
and Jonah heard no thunder from D.C.
High above the American dead,
Jonah saw fighter jets scramble,
they made swift return to Promised Land.
With “secret intelligence from the deity,” 1.
Jonah returned to the deep,
and sought the whale for questioning.

Jonah (with shocked expression):
“Did prophesy just come true?”

The whale (spouting):
Well Jonah, okay, you can put it that way,
but I’ll search around the sea bottom
for Liberty’s black box…, it’s the only thing
humanity has left for “certainty” anymore.

Jonah:
“Thank you for the residency, good bye,
but I do not want to get further involved!”

1. From Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 44, The Chart.