a clearing in rain- writings, uncollected: manatee's song

A song by billy dean

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-v2Y5JrJtc

i found an unusual, if not badly composed piece of montage dedicated to endangered manatees. the song was a jarring imposition on the message intended...anyway, these are terribly gentle creatures that inhabit the shores of florida. their rotund bodies are often mortally cut by fastboat propellers. another related species, known as dugongs, are found in southeast asia, sometimes as near as pulau tekong. i once took part in a feeding session at the singapore zoo. five dollars worth of freshly- steamed sweet potato tugged into the warm bristles that surround the slow stretch of soft-chewing lips. a dugong hugged the morsel with its fleshy flippers. and munched the tuber to a pulp. my hands still tickles from its touch.

elsewhere, an utterly harmless and serene creature dies- another unlived life. the song is a sentimental tribute to this fact. one may look beyond the obvious anthropomorphic intent on screen. however, the lyrics said something. it took me awhile to transpose the human sense of loss and recollection in this song to the world of manatees. if encapsulating this point is difficult, try to remember a favorite pet you lost or gave away as a child or an adult. you might have wondered about where he / she is, if the creature been alive or around still.

while writing, i recall the painful howl of a mother-hyena as she lost four of her cubs to a lion attack. the mother bravely defended her cubs in vain. she laid by the side, mortally wounded and yelped in certain loss for the pain that extended beyond her bloodied scars to the little ones mangled before her eyes. does that all amount to mere instinct? and so what if it is? isn't that a intrinsic substance of life in higher-forms of life as well- sensation, conscious reaction. fear, loss and apprehension...common bearings in many sentient beings. our intellect is quick to discount that which does not fit our limited schema. i always learn a valuable lesson from naturalists, poets, mystics and artists who look deeply and intently into the lifeworld of animals and grapple to find some connection there.

i recall this documentary about the tiger monastery in northern thailand, Wa Pa Luangta Bua. man and beast dwell in uncanny harmony. whoever makes any attempt to imagine this as magical or quiet exploitation must be blind.

i listen to dean's song again. its rhythm is purposeful...paced by skillful use of even metre and syllable. i detect a lyrical allusion to a chinese-themed ballad. still, it is just an instinct. am so tired of these regretful tones that everything calls for a distant recognition of how it should matter and why things need not remain the way they used to be. strange that i should attempt to test my terrain into man-animal psyche in this entry.... are manatees aware that they live on borrowed time? they maintain a sense of nonchalance in the manner which they paddle through the languid waters, not aware of the possible darkness ahead. content to lie in peace, a quiet decision made not to turn against much of a world that has ceased to save.

maybe then, this might be a song rewritten to abused, hunted and abandoned animals everywhere...