Sea turtles know
where they’re going and how to get there.
They read the signals, make maps
and compasses from magnetic fields,
follow the footprints of their sandy birthplaces
to find their own nesting grounds.
That summer Corolla Beach
was our destination
and one windswept moonlit evening we watched
newly hatched turtles make their way
to the water.
At that time, on that beach, our family
still mostly intact, we didn’t know
we needed to change direction,
find a new guidance system.
We didn’t know how to adjust to unknown coordinates,
how to navigate without latitude and longitude,
how to read the field.
We didn’t know how to steer
away from the storm.
We didn’t know
it would be the last summer.
