"Leviathan" by James E. Tokley Jr., Eileen Goldenberg, Martha Deambrose and Students from Tampa Preparatory School

Date: January 2006
Size: 65' (H) x 43' (W)
Location: Partk Tower on the Corner of Tampa and Madison in Downtown Tampa
Sponsor: Psychological Assessment Resources, J.O. Delotto and Sons, Colonnade Properties & the Wilson Company
Poem By: James Tokley
Lettering and Design: Eileen Goldenberg
Border Artwork: Created by Students at Tampa Preparatory School, supervised by Martha Deambrose and Kaki King
Students:

Liliya Mzhen	Alexandra Stephen	Whitney Jackson
Naomi Ward	Amanda Francis	Eli Chase
Taylor Richardson	Jonathan Williams	Gabreila Amarchand
Brian Steel	Kris Oxtal	Callie Nobles
Jodene Shwer	Juston Knutter	R.J. Huss
Rachel Falor	Matt Stumpf	Madelyn Dillabough
Emily Auger	Latora Lofgren	Lindsay Blume
Sarah Baker	Sam Wiand	Stefan Stein
Elonna Bettini	Jenn Farrell	Amanda Woods
Christian Warner	Ben Sever	David Hicks
Samantha White	Carrie Field	Kelsey Jarrett
David Shin	Fawn Madonai	Emily Cartwright
Tiffany Dale	Cory Fernandez	Zach Shindelman
Kat Pekkala	Solange St. Kitts	Elyssa Edelman
Dan Pariseau	Brad Goldsberry

"LEVIATHAN"
By JAMES E. TOKLEY (copyright © 2005 James E. Tokley All Rights Reserved)


The first words
that Earth heard were mine.
I taught seagulls how to sing.
Before God fashioned humankind
or the land of Eden, I was King.
The mighty shark makes way for me
And the squid, with her thousand arms,
surveys my kingdom cautiously,
for fear that I may do her harm.

But I am David of the sea. . .
A bard with baleen dithyramb!
T'was Homer, learned his trade from me,
whose epic poems predated Man.

And yet, within my verse resides
the secret lore that Plato knew. . .
the place where great Atlantis lies,
in all its splendor, crusted through!

I am Leviathan, sleek and black. . .
The racing porpoise Pelorus Jack!
The throat that swallowed wise men whole!
The bone that broke Nantucket's soul!
The nightmare that poor Ahab knew
The harpoon mark that scars the blue
of a breast filled up with mother's milk
and spills vermilion on the silk!

I am the whale whose spiraled horn
protruding from his bulbous brow,
portrayed him as a unicorn. . .
a tale hard-put to disavow.

And whales who would the will to fly
on wing'ed fingers over the sea
their full sopranos pierce the sky
with siren songs that sing to me.

For, I am Gaia's other child
who tends her flock with a tender sweep,
who smiles for you his monstrous smile
And sings his verse, from the briny Deep!