firecrackers
by Douglas J. Lanzo
a sperm whale dialogue
ignites in dark sea
I was inspired to write this Sciku by reading an article in the July-August 2024 issue of Harvard Magazine entitled “Decoding the Deep” by Jonathan Shaw. I was struck by the tremendous energy in the short staccato bursts of sperm whale communication and by the intricacy in their communications, including what may be simultaneous speaking and listening in their species.
The article details the richness and wonder of the firecracker-evoking clicks of sperm whales and the billions of vocalizations the CETI project, with the help of machine learning, is ambitiously seeking to collect and decode.
Further reading
‘Decoding the Deep’, 2024, Shaw, J., Harvard Magazine, Volume 126, Issue 6. Available: https://www.harvardmagazine.com/harvard-researchers-language-of-whales
‘Animal (Code) Cracker’, 2024, Shaw, J., Harvard Magazine. Available: https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2024/07/harvard-undergraduate-whale-vocalizations
I also recommend watching ocean documentaries, many of which are available on Amazon Prime, about whales.
Author bio
I am the author of ‘The Year of the Bear’ (Ames Best YA Book of 2023) and the 2024 Firebird Award winning ‘I Have Lived’ (a newly released novella) and have published poems in 76 literary publications worldwide. I reside in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with my wife and twin sons and enjoy basketball and tennis. My author’s website is at www.douglaslanzo.com.
Check out other sciku by Doug here: ‘Sentient Sea Play’, ‘Ornamental Defense’, and ‘Signaled Synchrony’.