MY LITTLE GRASS SHACK by JoAnn Semones HMBJoAnn@aol.com
I wade in, searching for a secret entrance to the wondrous aquatic world waiting just beneath the glassy swells. Today, there is a special treat. A single giant sea turtle flirts with the shore’s edge. He outweighs me by a hundred pounds. His shell carries the subtle shades of ripely aged patina. His eyes reflect the wisdom of an ancient seafarer. He studies me cautiously and allows me to paddle near. As he rolls gracefully under the languid tropical sea, a flip of his head beckons me to follow. What hidden treasures will we uncover?
We glide leisurely over the mottled ocean floor, it’s blues and greens turning from cobalt to mint. Awaiting us is a vast collection of marine curiosities: brilliant yellow and pink coral, verdant sea grass, purple and orange sea stars, crimson nudibranchs, citrine sea anemones. A host of exotic fish including Moorish idols, clownfish, angelfish, tangs and gars eagerly display their glorious array of colors. Unnamed creatures appear, primitive and prehistoric in form and character. Others arrive, modern and futuristic in design and function. This is nature's greatest fantasy ‑ a symphony of textures, tones and rhythms – “where the humuhumunukunuku apu a’a go swimming by.”
Gradually, he spirals lower and lower, almost out of view. The sun's filtered rays spray gauzelike into the watery depths, illuminating his private grotto. Encircled by a halo of eternal white light, I know we’ve entered a hallowed cove. He nestles in volcanic rocks below, swaying peacefully, in perfect tune with the sea's ebb and flow. I float suspended on the water's surface, serene and at one with the universe, hearing only the sound of my breathing.
As I close my eyes in dreamy moments of peaceful reverie, chords of longing tug at me in wistful yearning: “It won’t be long ‘til my ship is sailing back to Kona. It’s a grand old place I always long to see.” Once again, the sea turtle calls return, return.
BIO – JoAnn Semones, Ph.D., writes from her home in Half Moon Bay, California. She loves the sea and spends many hours engaged in coastal volunteer work for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary education program, the Half Moon Bay State Beach plover watch program, and the Pigeon Point Lighthouse docent program.