Cora McCann Liderbach

Smitten with Sea Turtles


Follow me
three fathoms down
to cool Pacific twilight,
where a leopard-spotted Hawksbill
meanders Maui’s Mother Reef,
probes coral
for floating flakes
of one-time jellyfish or sponge,
nibbles, and moves on.
Watch her surface,
pull enough air in her lungs
to outweigh the sea
and sink deep—
hang motionless, flippers limp—
till she feels the need to feed
or breathe. Heavy as granite,
lithe as Graham,
she’s serenity in motion
for those who worry
on the world’s
concrete
crust.