The Elephant Seal Harem: Gennesis Gastilo Sisterhood surrounded by aching masculinity Surfacing to feed to breed and multiply In vast waters the tumult extends. The only strength to sense predestined: promiscuity and diving. And drenched with none but fertile femininity Carrying seed and creed and self, I Peer curiously over waves of grunts And wonder at the complexities- the simple, the thriving. Torn between beliefs outstretched toward infinity I, one to need and heed reasons to exist; inside That harem, selfless selfishness Unpurposefully perpetuating life- Abundant in its graceful and awkward evolution Who am I to criticize- they're only just surviving. Big Nosed Torpedoes Mariela Pineda As I walked on the sandy, dusty trail I could hear the little ones cry like a baby cries for its milk and the older ones growl like an old fat man trying to get out of bed in the morning As I walked closer I could see big nosed elephant-colored torpedoes sleeping on the sand, resting after their hard work mating hibernating for their whole new journey to a refrigerator full of ice I saw one looking at me with round, black, teary marbles like a sad puppy looks at its owner when it is not taken for a walk Some just scratched their 5000-pound bodies full of lard with wounded chests showing off their masculinity and many like sardines in a can together eyed me with mean disturbing looks wanting to get up and slap me with their flippers They will be going away in the spring but they will come back again next year to once again repeat their life cycle I'll probably go visit them again too