MR. CAMEO AND THE WHALE

For several years after his wife left him,
Mr. Cameo wanted to share his grief with the world.
He rode commuter trains, sat in bus terminals,
took his meals in diners and cafeterias,
looking for a chance to open up to stranger,
but he soon discovered that the world
was not interested in his pain.
With growing despair he began to hunger for the ocean,
but the bleak days of winter had arrived.
So he bundled himself up like an arctic explorer
and, seeking protection from the harsh wind,
stuck himself into a cleft of the rocks in the jetty
where he would moan like a walrus for his lost love.

One Saturday in February, wrapped up and moaning,
he dozed off in spite of the discomfort of the rocks.
Upon opening his eyes he saw a whale swimming up,
a pure white beluga. Stopping a few feet from the shore,
it lay on the sand and stared at him.
"I have seen you here for three months now,
and it is clear to me what is in your heart.
I know how you are suffering, Mr. Cameo, for I too have lost a mate."
Mr. Cameo was neither startled nor disturbed.
"Alas, you great behemoth of the deep," he replied,