I remember the first time I saw it:
the Gulf
calm and still as a plate of silvery glass,
the ripples at the edge
the only sign
that we gazed on water
not china.
And the moon laid its lighthouse beam
from heaven across the glassy silence
to touch our feet
and gild the gently cresting waves
with pearly white drops.
We walked along the pale sand
and dipped our toes in and out of the foam.
And there -
all at once -
two gleaming manta rays
gliding
just beneath the surface
swift as shadows
and that magic moment
prickling hair
on the back of my neck
catching breath between my teeth
watching the creatures of the deep
here and gone -
so sudden -
like phantom night hawks
passing silently
before the face of the moon.

~~~

Credit for Photo: Photographer: Jackie Reid.
“Manta Ray in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary”
Source: NOAA’s Sanctuaries Collection [sanc0410]
This photo is in the public domain.