Watermark
Drifting in warm sea foam
five friends from age five
celebrate five decades of life
Magnified through goggles
bottomless Napili Bay ripples and swirls
rocks gently in weightless abandon
Startled by a tap to my arm
my friend quiets me fingers to lips
and points down
Something silver looms into focus
one then another and another
two more glide in perfect tiered formation
Blue Angels change direction as one
rising closer eyes watch
wiser from below
They separate slightly to reveal
beneath the flight of five
a small beloved baby
Effortless they pass
turn disappear reappear ever closer
as if within reach
Drifting in warm sea foam
five friends from age five
celebrate five decades of life
Magnified through goggles
bottomless Napili Bay ripples and swirls
rocks gently in weightless abandon
Startled by a tap to my arm
my friend quiets me fingers to lips
and points down
Something silver looms into focus
one then another and another
two more glide in perfect tiered formation
Blue Angels change direction as one
rising closer eyes watch
wiser from below
They separate slightly to reveal
beneath the flight of five
a small beloved baby
Effortless they pass
turn disappear reappear ever closer
as if within reach
Rolling sideways direct eye contact
fires an astonishing electrical jolt
throughout my buoyant body
Frightened by the magnificent mammals
one friend heads to shore
the dolphins disappear
They encircle her
guide her back to us
resume their curious vigil below
We five friends
knew one another's grandparents
as perhaps these five did
We five friends
protect one another's children
as these five do now
We sea callers join hands
free float circular and secure
in enchantment we share
knew one another's grandparents
as perhaps these five did
We five friends
protect one another's children
as these five do now
We sea callers join hands
free float circular and secure
in enchantment we share
Into my snorkel I burble a soft song
of summer camp days in our youth
my circle of camp mates join in
''May we go on believing
in this love we're receiving
right now 'round the fire as we sing”
Our eyes explode hands squeezing
as our hosts begin
to serenade back
One whistles and clicks another trills
until in chorus they sing us
the song of their youth
Forty-five minutes pass
time ceases
watermarked now and forever
A commotion ensues onshore
we lift our heads reluctant to turn away
reluctant to surrender our salty cradle
In splashing shouting spectacle
swimmers swarm toward us
eager to share our rapture
The dolphins slip from sight
surface in a straight line
facing open sea
Leaping breaching spouting
tails slap the glistening green
in joyful farewell
Onshore the crowd surrounds us
implores us to bear witness
to what we have seen
Immersed in the language of dolphins
suffused by the song of sirens
we are beyond words
until in chorus they sing us
the song of their youth
Forty-five minutes pass
time ceases
watermarked now and forever
A commotion ensues onshore
we lift our heads reluctant to turn away
reluctant to surrender our salty cradle
In splashing shouting spectacle
swimmers swarm toward us
eager to share our rapture
The dolphins slip from sight
surface in a straight line
facing open sea
Leaping breaching spouting
tails slap the glistening green
in joyful farewell
Onshore the crowd surrounds us
implores us to bear witness
to what we have seen
Immersed in the language of dolphins
suffused by the song of sirens
we are beyond words
