once i found a pseud-orca on cape cod and held the little whale while the woods hole people euthanized. this guy was entangled at shore edge and i lifted her and she was alive so i took this quick pic (as i did with the dying whale) and released her.

the loss of nature makes every little thing, every contact, every pulse, dear. the violence we are engaged in makes each moment of peace vital, like light, like air, like free-born love. we want to live, but if we are dying we want to reach shore still, and breath quiet. the whale breathes air. the fish breathes water.