Claire Donato

Four Poems

2 Narwhals Wrestling

Stirring, perhaps, the most silken of slipcovers.
Like blue parsimony athwart white

bedspreads of penguin-tusked walrii. Like crystal-

coated stones of malt & Batista & Christian hit
smackdown.  Like taffy

pulled from wrinkled
waxpaper, stretched into circles

of circles of rubber & icicle



Narwhal Ring Toss Poem

of wedding rings of round & glass:
             of wedding rings of round &

             glass rubber against
water                                       water against sand

                                                             rings of sand against
                                                                                     seeds of glass



Harpooner’s Poem

“When you throw it fast,” the harpooner says, “It slices
                                                                                     the glass & the rubber.”  He throws
                                                                         the glass:
                                                                                     shards of glass
                                                                                                             seeds of rubber &
                                                                                     shards of glass



On Finding a Dead Narwhal Perched in a Heap on the Shore

on the rock, its horn
spiraled up-

wards towards
Orion, only its horn

had been frozen & was
suddenly thawing

our eyes with
its delicate rays

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