A Dreadnought Sings for a Young Bar Jack by Oliver Cubillos
The first lesson I will teach you is how to swim against the current, how to evade the dangerous tug and pull of white, tunneled water; how to flitter between great patches of rock and sand and how to memorize the anatomy of the ocean floor; how to make yourself forever unseen in an instant against the backdrop of black water; how to forage the kelp forests and algae-ridden reefs (avoid the barracuda, despite their charming temptations); how to shoal with your mates (remember—wedge shape, the aggregation will protect you despite your fears); how to keep your mouth open and let the plankton wriggle inside for a sweet afternoon treat; how to know which puddingwife wrasse are safe to trust (the ones who call you gentle and sweet—dangerous); how to block out the stink and noise of petroleum tankers; how to dodge flies and poppers and lures and seines; how to love your caudal fin—my little jack, I will teach you my most important lesson, how to enjoy the most beautiful music in all the ocean: the blissful song of the quick-firing dreadnought as she belts her bold, tremendous tune.
Oliver Cubillos is a writer and filmmaker from Southern California. He recently graduated from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts with a BFA in Media Arts Production.
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