Beach Gift

Arriving at the beach in the late afternoon,
The pod of dolphins eating just past the row of
Supremely unsuccessful surfers caught my attention
And didn’t let go.
The pod moved around the little bay,
But once I watched one and then another leap,
And once I watched three leap, all in a row.
Their swept-back dorsal fins, their graceful tails,
Their spouting and fluidity,
All of this left me astonished.

And that glory was magnified with the knowledge
That my niece, expecting the Aquarium to be Sea World,
Asked repeatedly, “Where are the dolphins?”

And God answered the next day, “There they are,
Sweet girl, in the sea. Go look.”