The Maldive Shark

John Marr and Others Sailors

About the Shark, phlegmatical one,Pale sot of the Maldive sea,The sleek little pilot-fish, azure and slim,How alert in attendance be.From his saw-pit of mouth, from his charnel of mawThey have nothing of harm to dread,But liquidly glide on his ghastly flankOr before his Gorgonian head;Or lurk in the port of serrated teethIn 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.

l. 2: Maldive sea: an area of the Indian Ocean surrounding the Maldive Islands, which are located southwest of the southern tip of India.

l. 8: Gorgonian: refers to Gorgon of Greek mythology, whose head was covered with snakes and whose gaze turned the onlooker to stone.