Alicia Hayden: When the Whale Sang/ The Whale’s Song

*When the Whale Sang* won the “Human Impact” category of David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year 2021, alongside the Inaugural Ingrid Beazley Award

It sounds a bit like the feeling of watching
honey seep through milk.

A thick, luxurious, gorgeous sound.
A feeling of deep reverberations,

which echo through a vast, vast
amphitheatre.

But his stage, once packed with
kaleidoscope fish and pastel coral,

is an empty shell.
A hollow vessel.

So, he moves on.
And sings to the ocean –

a loneliness you cannot comprehend

Alicia Hayden

Alicia is a self-trained wildlife artist, photographer, writer, and filmmaker from North Yorkshire; with a degree in Biological Sciences from Oxford University. She aims to celebrate the beauty of the natural world in her work, as well as showcasing the threats it faces. She won the “Human Impact” category of David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year 2021 for her piece “When the Whale Sang”, and was awarded the inaugural Ingrid Beazley Award. Last year, she self-published her debut illustrated wildlife poetry book, “Rain before Rainbows”, with the aim of increasing awareness of the natural world, and raising money for the wildlife hospital Tiggywinkles. You can find out more about Alicia and her work via her website, or order prints of “When the Whale Sang” and copies of “Rain before Rainbows” through her online shop.