The Whale of aTale

A Kyoka about the whale stranded in Thames River--for Writers Cramp

On January 22, 2006, a northern bottle-nosed whale that was stranded in the River Thames expired as the rescuers tried to airlift him to the ocean.
This is really a very sad story and I am not making fun of an animal's death, but it was the prompt for Writers Cramp.


A bottle-nosed whale
wallowed in murky waters
of the River Thames
on a frantic search for King,
to blow his top on the spot

at royal pain of
“Doing nothing is something.”
His tale lured London,
brought traffic to a stop, but
they turned him down from the Crown.

Cambridge or Oxford,
at least, he wished for culture
or to travel in
a red double-decker bus,
as he ailed and flailed to swim.

The heart-broken whale
on a makeshift whale mattress
was lifted in air;
yet, he missed on sightseeing
and died with heartfelt regret.


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Kyoka means "crazy poem". It's written to make fun of politicians, leaders, past and present day events. The syllable structure is: 5/7/5/7/7