Looking to nest and avoid the foxes,
diamondbacks crawl to shore in daylight.
From the brackish waters of tidal creeks
and salt marshes, their synchronous
emergences with other turtles
are arribadas—arrivals of birthing.
Exploring the Audubon, we skirt little cages
tethered to the sand where eggs were laid,
pass a volunteer crew, rakes shouldered
after tending nests, clarifying the terrain.
Another group kneels, checking
for evidence, foreheads low, as if in prayer.
Later we come upon a terrapin,
half buried in beach, head half in the shell,
we, three giants looming over her in awe.
She must have been afraid. Did we
interrupt the laying? We leave her alone,
our human shadows cast long.
—
Rebecca Hart Olander’s poetry and collaborative visual and written work has appeared in print, online, and in multiple anthologies. A winner of the Women’s National Book Association Poetry Award, her books include Dressing the Wounds (dancing girl press, 2019) and Uncertain Acrobats (CavanKerry Press, 2021), named an Eric Hoffer Book Award Category Finalist and a Must-Read selection by the Massachusetts Center for the Book. Rebecca is a writing teacher and the editor/director of Perugia Press.
