Yellow Seahorse

Ever so fragile
Drifting along a current
Pony of the sea

--Susan Walker

"The Secrets of the Seahorse"

by Scott Carpenter

You caught my eye
floating through the sea grass
seeming to move without effort,
like a belle making her entrance,
but up close fluttering your tiny fins
with all your delicate might

Little Lined Seahorse
lightly bowed and demure,
elegant and white as an angel
but draped in light green and pale yellow
understated but unforgettable, beguiling but untouchable

You draw me to you
with your impossible shape
and your eyes always looking
up at me, nodding as you pass through
the waving grass,
as if to leave, before

gracefully curving
your enchanting tail around
the grass and pausing to look back
like a silent screen siren casually leaving
her fallen handkerchief
for a hesitant beau

Your lacy veil armors you
your ancient manners play
with a light touch I can only admire
the sea grass curtain closes on your triumph;
beneath your grace
wells strong resolve