basic training
by Mike Fainzilber
the sleepless nights
of a dolphin mother
This haiku deals with unique modes of sleep and sleep deprivation and relates to a study that showed that newborn dolphins and their mothers do not sleep at all for the first month of the newborn’s life.
The newborns require constant support and vigilance during this period, otherwise they may sink in the water and drown, hence no sleep at all for the dolphin mother! Human mothers with offspring in basic training in the military can probably relate to this…
This haiku is the second in a pair of poems on unique modes of sleep and sleep deprivation, the first being inspired by nesting penguins: ‘To sleep…’
Further reading:
‘Continuous activity in cetaceans after birth’, 2005, Lyamin, O., Pryaslova, J., Lance, V. & Siegel, J., Nature, available: https://doi.org/10.1038/4351177a
‘Newborn dolphins go a month without sleep’, 2005, Coghlan, A., New Scientist, available: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7606-newborn-dolphins-go-a-month-without-sleep/
Author bio:
Mike Fainzilber’s day job is a biologist. He began writing haiku and senryu during the pandemic, and this side effect of COVID-19 has not worn off yet. Editors in his two spheres of activity have been known to suggest that he should best restrict his efforts to the other sphere. Find out more about Mike’s research via his lab’s website and connect with him on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/mfainzilber.bsky.social .
Read more sciku by Mike: ‘The deepest shade’, ‘Jellyfish’, and ‘In the Deep’, ‘The Blood and the Run’, and ‘To sleep…’.