Menagerie of turquoise water
Abudefduf saxatilis
Flitting brite colours beneath my dangling feet
Thalassoma bifasaatum
One supermale shimmy's
a blue head over the rock
then under again
out of sight
You move so fast my eye burns from staring
The wind ripples distortion hiding your identity
You flip colours, sexes, social status
And tomorrow I am
Looking at a whole different clique

February 8, 2001

Hurricane Hole Marina, Nassau

The dock ends
In a menagerie
of turquoise water
Bright patterns gliding
Beneath my dangling feet

Abudefduf saxatilis
Sparisimo veride
Thalassoma bifascitum

One super male
shimmies his blue head
over the rock ledge
And then under again
out of sight
You move so fast my eye
burns from staring
The wind ripples distortion
hiding your identity
You flip colours, sexes,
social status
And tomorrow I am
looking at a whole different
clique

February 8, 2001

Hawksbill Turtle

Beneath the sea rocks
Only head extended
Beak sharply gazing
in my direction
You finally glide out
Mottled yellow brown grun
Awkward yellow stubby
arm blades
allowing graceful
water flight
By some miracle
you are always
the perfect buoyancy
skimming near my hand
or bobbing in the surface swells
high above my head

January 29, 2001

Sting Ray

Maybe I will call you Rover,
laying lazily still
for hours
and suddenly rising,
you shake mightily,
dog like
lumps of sand flying
you flap off

January 29, 2001