Atlantic Nocturne
A distant rumbling keeps the clouds from sleep.
Lightning reaches for the shore
where a turtle’s slow tracks in the sand
mark her passage to moonlight
pooling in a hollow. Between silver
and darkness she casts a shadow weighing more
than her shell, while the ocean’s pulse
has a steady beat and its heart
glows deep beneath
the surface.
Tonight
the carvers of stone calendars
awaken in time to see
their predictions fulfilled, as the turtle
draws strength from ancient storms
to lay an egg for every flash.
David Chorlton is a longtime resident of Phoenix, who has grown into the desert climate and likes it. Visits to Costa Rica and the rainforest made a significant and vastly contrasting impression on him compared to his usual dry surroundings.
Amethyst Review 