yesterday, while sitting

by the sea, a man ran down

to shore, urgently gesticulating and

waving for his children to come back in.

 

his caution spread and soon we saw

the fin as well, coming quickly up

and down not too close, but perhaps

not far enough for comfort.

 

and it took a bit more time

until we all could see

that instead of triangled,

the fin was curved

 

and rather than caution extreme,

delight ensued instead

 

and then we saw two. a mother

and a calf cavorted in the lazy

afternoon sun.

 

and as we strolled away

after a time,

 

i wondered how much of life

is spent assuming a shark,

when only a dolphin is there

instead.

 

Heather Pound 2023

Photo by Chris Galbraith on Unsplash