The
March
Loggerhead Turtles 150 million years
old
can grow to be three feet, 300 lbs.
Twenty
turtles hatch on Pawley's Island
where we form strict lines
on
the sand to witness
the
sway and shuffle of baby turtles
while trained volunteers
nudge
them straight with their feet
We
never touch or speak
but search for predators
who
will dive snap kill
Near
the sea a volunteer plucks up
turtles placing them one
by
one on incoming waves
The
turtles swim forward roll back
race for their lives
while
we see the swoop of a hawk
Hear
his squawk watch
his mouth tighten
as
he flies back to his nest
We
accept the inevitable
trudge in straight lines
up
the beach to our clean vans
Mare Leonard
Mare Leonard lives in an old school house overlooking The Rondout Creek. Away from
her own personal blackboard, she teaches through the Institute for Writing and Thinking
and the MAT program at Bard College. She has published four chapbooks of poetry and a
new one, The Dark Inside the Hooded Coat will be published shortly at Finishing Line
Press. www.mareleonard.com
Tags:
Poetry