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 maw
They have nothing of harm to dread,
But liquidly glide on his ghastly flank
Or before his Gorgonian head:
Or lurk in the port of serrated teeth
In 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.   This poem is in the public domain. |
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About This Poem “The Maldive Shark” was published in John Marr and Other Poems (Princeton University Press, 1922). |
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Herman Melville was born on August 1, 1819, in New York City. Most known for his epic novel Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (Harper and Brothers, 1851), he is the author of several poetry collections, including Timoleon (Caxton Press, 1891) and John Marr and Other Sailors (Princeton University Press, 1922). He died on September 28, 1891, in New York City. 
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