A moment in Maui by LeeAnn Pickrell

A moment in Maui

Setting out at 5 a.m. for the sea turtles’
morning march into the water at Kalepolepo Park.
The night is as inky dark as the water.
A man says he counted twenty-eight turtles
two days ago. Today I see only
one turtle pop its head above the water
before descending again. But the moon is full,
reflecting the sun and the day to come.
For almost a week, I’ve tried to silence
the world’s cruelty, really our cruelty,
our chaos, our wars, our hearts closed
to others’ suffering. Later, volunteers
will put up flags to keep us twenty feet
from the turtles that return to nap at low tide.
Everything needs to be protected from us.
The clouds slowly pinken as I wade into the ocean,
and the moon falls into my opened palms.

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LeeAnn Pickrell is a poet, freelance editor, and managing editor of Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche. Her work has appeared in a variety of online and print journals, including ONE ART, Loud Coffee Press, Atlanta Review, and MacQueen’s Quinterly. She has a book forthcoming from Unsolicited Press. She lives in Richmond, California, with her partner and two fabulous cats.