tortoise

I am tortoise,
swimming through
the chorus of the sea,
its song my destiny.

I glide down thermals
to deep shoals
whispering of food
and there in darkness
dine
and then

rise
through
shimmering clouds
of Life,
so sweet
my carapace brims
with joy.

I have traveled far,
to the great Cold
to feast and fatten for
the long journey home,
bearing my young to
sun-swept sand
and then to sea again.

But what is this
that now burns my flesh
and blinds me to the light?
What is this,
that chokes me
as I rise
to breathe,
what is this
that has silenced
the great ocean harmonies?

And as I breach to draw my breath
what is this scorching thing
that strangles me with flames?
What dark destiny
has caused the sea
to burn my life away?
What is this, 
why won't you say?

How many tortoises will it take to make us wise?

                                                       ~cc 2010 email