Ahab and the Whale
(link )
He beckons you.
He beckons me.
He beckons all the fiends of Hell
And they obey.
So says the Great White Whale.
He is the lash and he is the whip.
He is the word of God,
The Old Testament God,
The God of cruel extremes.
So says Captain Ahab.
He speaks with the voice of God.
But who is Ahab’s master
That he should be so driven?
Let’s play a game.
You be Ahab and I’ll be Ishmael
And together we’ll sail the seven seas
In search of answers.
I’ll pose the questions,
Then together we might find
Something of value,
An answer that comes close
To the question being asked.
They both came with questions.
Ishmael sought answers to his questions
And sought revelation.
Ahab knew the answers to all of his
And only sought vindication.
Both were denied
While Queequeg stood aloof
Hiding some secret message
That he denied them all.
Ahab knew his demon well.
They feasted on each other
And both grew fat,
While Ishmael starved with his,
For the pursuit
Gave him no satisfaction.
They sailed beyond the edge of reason
Only to become the reason
For each other’s existence.
And therein lay Ahab’s vindication:
He had no choice.
He was doomed, destined and damned
To follow his star, however dark.
Only Ishmael returned
Having seen for himself
What man is capable of
He returned to bear witness
To something heinous,
Yet cursed with the faintest whisper of nobility.
And therein lay Starbuck’s role
In this tragedy.
His was the most damming sin of all:
He failed to stop it.
He was powerless
To halt or divert the madness.
He saw it.
He knew it.
He failed.
Ishmael wanted revelation.
Ahab wanted vindication.
Starbuck just wanted it all to end.
So Ishmael was vindicated,
Ahab was validated,
Queequeg, Starbuck and crew
Were unwilling observers,
Bound to the Pequod and its Captain,
And perished.
And so ended it all.
And the Great White Whale,
What is it’s destiny?
I imagine it still lures the unwitting
To pursue dreams and nightmares,
Something primal perhaps, or evil.
They are all interconnected,
One story blending into the next.
There can be no clear winner.
This time, I will be Ahab.
But who will be my Ishmael?
Palimpsest 
Leave a comment