"Leaping Blue Marlin" - Bahamas AI Image
©A. Derek Catalano
The Cerulean King
An Ode to the Blue Marlin, National Fish of The Bahamas
In the kingdom where the sapphire tide meets the burning gold of day,
Where the coral gardens blossom in the salt-flecked, turquoise spray,
There dwells a monarch robed in light, of muscle, speed, and grace,
The swiftest ghost of Lucayan seas, the master of the chase.
With a spear of bone and a heart of fire, through the rolling deep he runs,
A living shard of the ocean’s soul, beneath the tropical suns.
I. The Form of Majesty
His flank is etched in cobalt ink, with silvered stripes that glow,
A shifting neon symphony as he prowls the depths below.
A dorsal fin like a jagged sail, a crescent tail of steel,
He moves with the silent thunder that the trembling currents feel.
The Makaira nigricans, in shadows dark and dim,
No creature of the seven seas can ever match with him.
Ten hundred pounds of leaping power, a lightning bolt in blue,
He pierces through the glassy swell to start his life anew.
II. The Dance of the Deep
When the hook is set and the line is taut, the battle-cry is heard,
He breaks the surface, soaring high, as graceful as a bird.
He "walks the water" on his tail, a greyhound of the brine,
Against the angler’s straining reel and the singing nylon line.
In somersaults and silver arcs, he defies the heavy air,
A warrior of the indigo, with a wild and regal flare.
To see him rise is to behold a wonder fierce and grand,
The pride of every island shore and every sun-drenched sand.
III. The National Emblem
But more than just a sportsman's prize or a phantom of the gale,
He carries the weight of a nation’s pride in every shimmering scale.
Go look upon the Shield of State, where the symbols are unfurled,
Where the Bahamian spirit speaks its peace unto the waiting world.
There, paired beside the Flamingo pink, in a stance of noble might,
The Blue Marlin stands as a guardian of the islands' sovereign right.
IV. The Coat of Arms
Upon the Coat of Arms he rests, a sentinel of the sea,
Supporting the shield of the rising sun and the Santa Maria’s plea.
Opposite the bird of flame, he represents the deep,
The treasures of the Lucayan shelf that the island people keep.
"Forward, Upward, Onward, Together," the motto rings so true,
With the Flamingo on the western flank and the Marlin in the blue.
One of the earth, one of the sky, and one of the surging foam,
The triad of the heritage that calls these islands home.
V. The Legacy of the Isles
From the bights of Andros to the banks where the Great Abaco lies,
The Marlin’s legend travels on beneath the summer skies.
He is the spirit of the Gulf, the heartbeat of the pier,
The reason why the mariner holds the emerald waters dear.
Oh, King of the Atlantic realm, with your bill of polished stone,
The Bahamas claims your legacy and seats you on the throne.
So long as the tides shall ebb and flow and the trade winds softly blow,
The Blue Marlin shall rule the waves where the warm West Indies glow.
A national treasure, fierce and free, in his coat of azure dye,
The champion of the Commonwealth beneath the Bahamian sky.
©A. Derek Catalano/ChatGPT
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Related article: The Pink Flamingo: The Bahamas’ Iconic Bird
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