Thursday, August 22, 2013

Manatee Dreaming

Photo from the internet

     manatee comes from the word 'manati,' meaning breast
     in the Taino (a pre-Columbian/Caribbean tribe) language

So I'm driving home from the dentist
mouth aching     numb lipped
it's hot and tourists are everywhere
crowding in summer's last frenzy

on the radio someone's singing
Havana Dreaming--but my fuzzy brain
hears manatee dreaming because it's hot     
because I'm glum     because my lips are numb

and suddenly I'm there--
off with those monstrous looking angels
of the deep and we are cool
and placid in turquoise waters

not your fancy dolphin-types
leaping gaily into the air  
but solid      Midwestern sort
of creatures     no nonsense animals…

I remember once at an aquarium
coming face to face with one
only thin glass between
the wrinkled head and me   

and nose to nose we exchanged smiles
the small gentle eyes
seeming to know me
and she seeming happy

as if her life on display
were no matter
as if I were the one to be pitied
more than her and she would have

if she could  have      hugged me
to her great pillowy breast
and kindly told me all
I would ever need to know

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