Orcas, Pilot Whales, and You

At Last, Your Time to Shine

The tide coming in,
the tide going out.
That moment when the current turns,
when the water grows restless,
its direction uncertain—
a brief hour of confusion.

Poised on the edge of day and night,
the nature of light begins to change.
Energy shifts,
waves heave and surge,
pouring out like a tsunami—
a time when everything feels blurred.
From experience and memory,
relationships are held together.

Leadership finally comes into its own.
What we call
the Grandmother Hypothesis—
that hidden strength
beginning to shine.

Animals who stop reproducing
meet death soon after.
Yet there are those who do not.
They live on,guiding the pod

to the very end

A natural gift,given by God.

the female orca,
the female pilot whale,

and you.

So let yourself shine.
From now on, you will shine.
You are not disappearing.
You are not fading away.
From now on, you will shine.
So let yourself shine—
you will shine,
as much as you wish.

*these are my own paintings *
[ In the same way that women experience menopause and the menopausal transition, female orcas and pilot whales are the only animals known to do so.]