Over the grey edge of sand
a sea mist is moving
stirred by the rising sun.
Shellfish glued to the rock
glisten in the retreating tide.

A gull flaps along the beach -
first wings to challenge
the lingering silence of night.
A crab edges from its bolthole
offering a perfect sphere of sand
to the new day.

Bird, shellfish, crab and I
Share this moment of time -
fellow travellers sculpted
by sea, sand and sun.

Shell, carapace and bone
record our histories;
co-evolved,
bound by ancient choices
unknown to us.

Let us hold a convention here,
gull, crab, shellfish and I
to ponder the meaning
of our brightening world.

We pluck so little from it
when we go alone.

How shall we speak to each other?
How shall we share
what it means for us to be
on this earth together?

What can we learn
you and I?
Shall we consult
the sea's oracle too?

Now
light and tide combine
to unveil the mystery.

Carpe diem,
my small companions!
From this home
experienced in diverse ways,
Let us discover a larger truth.

There is an ancient wisdom
to recover.

by Dexter Dunphy