We Were Marine Once Maybe
NaPoWriMo 11/30, After Marion Bethel
Apr 11, 2026 · 1 min read

Whose fins do we grow
from when we take our turn to
eat our fill of sun?
Whose tails do we thank
for delaying the river
eating ours away?
Whose fate will we take
after: this wooden whale or
those who ate its base?
I took inspiration from the title from Marion Bethel’s persona poem from the voice of a beached whale, “We Were Terrestrial Once Maybe,” which you can watch her read here. I’d also like to thank pixiewithpens for the words from their Escapril prompt for today, eat/eating/ate. You can check out their prompts below (they have a book coming out soon; you should buy it. I got to beta read it, and the poetry, indeed, fucks!): https://creativechaosgoblinclub.substack.com/p/having-your-cake-and-eating-it-with?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web