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Dolphin
Once, without warning,
you catapulted out of the water,
as though the sea
threw you to the sky,
and looked up laughing as you soared,
arms flung wide to catch you.
You were the ocean’s heart
leaping out of its chest,
or a memory of my father
thumping the air with happiness:
a rush of silver against the blue sky,
the sea’s shooting star.
You carry our lost language,
the sounds we made
before our mouths
found the shapes of words.
Whistle to me, click your snout
and I will answer.
In dreams I am part of your mystery:
gliding underwater,
guided by echolocation,
a synchronised swimmer,
an ocean trampoliner
bouncing into the sky.