The greater rush
from one foot in
the Atlantic Ocean
and the other
in the Indian Ocean
relative to cage diving
with great white sharks,
seems odd to me.
And there were great white sharks:
seven in all, 2 large ones,
chum drawn and bait bated to
charge the cage
hosting a line up of black suited
precious human bodies.
Clearly the cage is more
for our psychological protection,
than physical protection.
Sharks kill 5 to 7 humans a year.
We human kill 100,000 sharks each year.
Who’s the greater danger?
Sharks are so like the rhino,
a throwback to prehistoric bodies.
I’m surprised with the total
lack of fear suiting up
or entering the cage.
Once in, a huge rush,
partly cold water,
partly that I’m immersed
in the Atlantic Ocean,
near the very bottom of the planet.
I’m in the ocean that bonds
Greenland and Canada,
England and Maine,
and the steady heart beat
of Africa with South America.
The ocean feels charged
with past ships successfully
completing marketing missions,
and those claimed by Davie Jones locker
by this rugged coast.
The great whites are here,
drawn to “shark alley”
by the penguins on Dire Island
to the right, and seals on the left.
Both shorelines we can see from the boat.
Sharks are drawn to the boat
by the food game of
now you see it, now you don’t.
The water is chummed with
fish blood and bits, advertising the game.
If you choose to show up to play,
a hooked fish head is thrown your direction,
then withdrawn quickly over the human cage.
The men throwing know the “fetch” game well.
No feeding the sharks, tempting only,
so it must be jerked quickly out of jaws reach.
Underwater I have the house’s
best seat….last in the cage.
At the end of the boat chumming draws
schools of parrot fish who feed in a frenzy.
With visibility at 7 feet only
the cry “down in front”
means all of us caged ones
drop below the waters surface.
Nothing in front, fish feeding off to my right.
I come up for air.
Another “down in front”,
I submerge forgetting to take a breath.
And there it is.
A great white shark
drifting by, gills slits clear, closed,
only a brief mouth line
under the elongated snout.
“Down in front”
here comes another,
one lazy tail twitch sending it
shooting toward the boat,
the cage, mouth open.
I’m surprised by my bodies
lack of visceral fear, only appreciation
for the magnificent beauty,
the size and incredible grace.
And I’m getting cold.
Isn’t life incredible?
Lizette.Estelle Stiehr
September 14, 2010
