It is early in the new millennium.
It is the end of the summer.
And in the media: disturbing news
of increased shark attacks. Everywhere,
a rash of reports of sharks,
previously wary of the
chaos at the shoreline,
swimming in closer to beaches
with, it seems,
a single frightening purpose:
to get to where the people are.
And I’m no marine expert, but
I think I understand their drive—
more compelling than hunger,
more powerful than risk.
The feeling that staying
where you are could, eventually,
seem like moving backward,
circling the same gray leagues of sea
might start to seem like capitulation.

James R. Whitley’s poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and published in numerous literary journals including HEArt, Poetry Midwest, Valparaiso Poetry Review, and Xavier Review. His first poetry book, Immersion (Lotus Press, 2002), was selected by Lucille Clifton as the winner of the Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award. He is also the author of the chapbook Pietà (Pudding House Publications, 2001), which was selected as a finalist in both the Summer 2000 National Looking Glass Poetry Chapbook Competition and the Maryland State Poetry & Literary Society’s 2000 Chapbook Contest. Mr. Whitley’s newest chapbook, The Golden Web, is available in electronic and trade paperback formats from Wind River Press. Currently, Whitley lives in Boston, Massachusetts.