The Sea Elephants Quotes

“Once upon a time, the gods took away the first ancestor of the sea elephants, coveting him for his exceptional beauty— tusks blue, body ivory.
The trauma of that original separation haunts every sea elephant thereafter and even when they sing, their songs contain five notes or fewer, the full octave missing from their music.”
― Shastri Akella, The Sea Elephants

“He sat down on the porch, chuckling, and I wanted to be that sound in his throat, to be that decibel that corresponded so precisely to his pleasure.”
― Shastri Akella, The Sea Elephants

“Time...is a rocking horse. When Krishna was a child, he pulled its ear, released it, and walked away, laughing. It creaked, back and forth,
back and forth, back and forth. Noisy nonstop. We worship Krishna in the child form because we want him to come and grab that Time Horse by its tail; when he does, the horse’s grinning face will come to a halt and
silence will descend. Peace, at last, from the noise of time. Isn’t that the need at the heart of our every prayer, whatever our material demands, whatever words we choose? Peace from the noise of time.”
― Shastri Akella, The Sea Elephants