Seals (Iona)

No angels listen when you cry out here,
but seals rise up to see, and criticize
perhaps, as you intone the omega
(their favourite vowel) or the medical alpha
(sticking your tongue out) for these gods of ocean.

Words wouldn’t do. There are no consonants
in the mouths of seals. They can appreciate
only the modified howl, the growly roar,
and perhaps the loudest purr a man can make.