Atlantic Dolphins by Penny Harter

Atlantic Dolphins
by
Penny Harter

Dolphins leap in the dawn,

their silver backs shedding

sparks of foam, their rhythm

a heartbeat beyond the breakers.

Welcoming the sun,

they raise salt into the wind

as they follow schools of fish

into the morning.

Tonight when they rest in the swells,

swimming with half-closed eyes,

blowholes open to the air,

they will listen for one another

and for the turning Earth

whose moon sounds the tides

that rock them;

and perhaps

they will dream of the stars,

pale phosphorescent ancestors

whistling faintly to them

from the distant currents

of the sky.

From Lizard Light: Poems from the Earth (Sherman Asher).
Used with the author's permission.

Penny Harter lives in the Southern New Jersey shore area, about a half-hour inland from the Atlantic Ocean. A mother, grandmother, and former high school teacher of English in New Jersey and Santa Fe, New Mexico, her poems usually feature the natural world and our connections to it. Penny's work also explores the mysteries of time, memory, and mortality. Her collection, Falling Leaves: Haibun and Poems Along the Path (Kelsay Books), is due out later this year. Learn more about Penny at https://www.pennyharterpoet.com.

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Eiken:
Beautiful poem!!
Posted 07/13/2012 10:30 AM

penhart:
Thank you all so much for your kind comments about my poem. I have always been fascinated by dolphins and would love to swim with them some day. Dream on . . . And although "Lizard Light" is from the nineties, the poems in it matter as much, if not more, to me today in this time of ecological challenge.
Posted 07/12/2012 01:52 PM

Abigail :
A beautiful, fresh poem. Makes me want to dive into the ocean and play. Thank you, Penny
Posted 07/12/2012 12:57 PM

KevinArnold:
Wonderfully done. Dolphins are a part of the draw of the ocean. The Pacific too.
Posted 07/12/2012 11:17 AM

dotief@comcast.net:
I love the description of the sleeping segment of the porpoise's life. Beautiful images! And since I am at the beach at this very moment,the poem is most appropriate.
Posted 07/12/2012 11:04 AM

loisflmom:
Penny, beautful, beautiful! Dolphins are amazing, graceful creatures, and I watch for them almost daily.
Posted 07/12/2012 10:35 AM

Carol Hauer:
Beautiful imagages. Lovely allusion to "star-stuff." Sun, moon, stars...gorgeous.
Posted 07/12/2012 08:05 AM

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