Her hair dark in blue water. The bones that crunched and slid.
Animals and other animals that don’t look like animals, eating.
The final slow release, her hand unfurling like a bud.
Guests who would go home to lie next to other bodies
still buoyant with breath, still capable, still with eyes smaller
than his eyes; bedroom air swirling
like schools of fish. Those dreams where walking
doesn’t feel like walking, and teeth are never
mostly intact. He kept her under long after it ended.
Still, some would forget, the currents carrying blood like ash;
the turquoise shimmering, a nice day, a beautiful day,
sun that curved like a scythe. An expected demise.
Two performances; one acceptable, the other tragic.
The other whale who would later carry her dead child
for days; a human quieting a toddler after a shadow
in the corner of a room, and it was barbaric, almost—
the way love wasn’t always seen as love,
the way lives would circle other lives,
waiting, watching. Feeding.
On February 24, 2010, Dawn Brancheau, an animal trainer at Seaworld, was pulled under the water by a male orca named Tilikum and drowned. This occurred while guests were observing over dinner at the park’s restaurant. The death sparked a debate over animal rights violations.
Meggie Royer (she/her) is a Midwestern writer and artist. She has been nominated several times for the Pushcart Prize and has been published in journals such as The Minnesota Review, The Rumpus, San Antonio Review, and more. She thinks there is nothing better in this world than a finished poem. Her most recent poetry collection, A Violet Stretch of Sky, was published in 2025 by akinoga press. Her work can be found at meggieroyer.com.