It happens rarely, but you need to know Before you light a match beside a whale That’s decomposing: Several years ago In Taiwan on the beach a rotting male Physeter macrocephalus got so Filled up with gas it blew itself sky-high And splattered whale parts up and down the row Of cars and stores and people passing by. And then in Germany, there were these toads That tried to scare off crows by means of puffing— But he who overpuffs sometimes explodes In all directions his internal stuffing. I’m just reporting facts. Next time you see A bloated sperm whale, stop and think of me. —Henry Rathvon