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MCFADZEAN/ BIO





​MAMMALIAN DIVING REFLEX
​
​
​

For those unlearned self-soothers

not lax or slipshod, negligent

by some failing of moral character –

But passed over     As in overlooked

Otherwise obstructed from its truths

Did Deor dunk his face in a vat of rainwater

After the Heodenings cancelled him?

Reciting our scanty mantras

We like dolphins immerse our faces

seer     suck     sooth      say

Water caresses skin above the cheekbones

and just below the eye sockets

Think of seals      otters      muskrats

Like šir o šakar, we’re milk and sugar

Nature calming what nurture neglects

I should have been a pair of ragged calls

The cold water calms the siren’s shrieking

Of the bathroom’s mascara-flecked basin

Quiet shock / spelunker diving / breath-cached

Sealman      signit      selkie

© COLUMBA  |  ​​​​​​ISSN ​2564-1271

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