this mute substitute
floating by all pretty
pink as coral
fashionably thin
I guess, questionable
yet in this lost moment
I attached myself
like I would to my mate
nostalgic, wondering
what has happened
to my tiny fry
did they swim off
to explore the sea
without me
you were supposed meet me
early this morning
to be here, real
not this plastic impostor
left in the wake
of human monsters
oceans will never be
free of this debris
I should let this small thing go
it is what I would do
if I were not caught under
this floating land of trash
however I hold on
wishing I held you
my missing mate
imagining our beautiful sea grass bed
our early morning dance
us swimming in circles
mating in this sea
that had once been so pristine

Judith A. Sears
©January 5, 2019

The inspiration for “The Missing Seahorse” came from an image taking by Justin Hofman. The image is all at once charming and sad. It haunted me.

Below is a link with information about Justin Hofman on the Eyos Expeditions website the image is about halfway down the page:

https://www.eyos-expeditions.com/about/team/justin-hofman/

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