Male orcas usually stay with their mothers.
      They only leave to mate
but they return, circling close.
 
We sighted them by Lime Kiln lighthouse.
      They showed off, leaping from
the Puget Sound like a giant corkscrew,
 
side-flopping, tail-slapping, back-
       diving to show wonder, glee or relish.
We stayed on the shore until sundown,
 
waiting for the sudden explosion of them,
        water spraying from every fin & dorsal.
We pinky-promised to keep together in the pod.
 
But there were many threats — oil spills, uproars
        from boats, coastal storms. Mother
& son, we moved apart during the overruling noise
 
& blinding afternoon fog.