Herman Melville

The Maldive Shark

ABOUT the Shark, phlegmatical one,
Pale sot of the Maldive sea
The sleek little pilot-fish, azure and slim,
How alert in attendence be.
From his saw-pit mouth, from his charnel of maw
The have nothing of harm to dread,
But liquidly glide on his ghastly flank
Or before his Gorgonian head;
Or lurk in the port of serrated teeth
In white triple tiers of glittering gates,
And there find a haven when peril's abroad,
An asylum in jaws of the Fates!
They are friends; and friendly they guide him to prey,
Yet never partake of the treat--
Eyes and brains to the dotard lethargic and dull,
Pale ravener of horrible meat.