"miracle in the dunes..."

she beckoned me
to follow
her
skittering along
the sand
just below the dunes
on delicate legs
that matched
the willowy seagrass
just ahead
of us

I thought
that perhaps I
was mistaken

even though I'd
spoken to her
from the
silence of
my heart's hunger
for something
unheard,

had she
really
answered with
cock of her head, and 
a flick of
her slender beak
and a
gently whispered
"follow
me.."

She didn't fly
she wasn't afraid
she waited for me
whenever I lagged
behind
only
trying to give her
space

just
in case I was
wrong and
she was
only
returning to
somewhere I was
not invited.

but she urged me
along
behind her
like a conspiratoral
friend on an
adventure into the
dunes.

when she disappeared behind
a shelf of
sand and broken shells
I thought I'd lost
her...

but there it was again,
"follow me....
even where you cannot see"

So I followed her delicate
footprints in the
soft dry sand.

and as I rounded a
tall mound of
crushed shells and
tall grass I saw her
waiting
for me next to a
small
nest of
tiny eggs and
one small
chick...

and I knew

I had seen
a
miracle
in
the dunes...