Empty now with the look of desertion, <br />The cove where seals lay is lonely today. <br />They and their pups are now in the ocean, <br />Singing sea shanties while learning to play. <br /> <br />Cooped up in close confines while giving birth, <br />Awkward their movements on rocky dry land. <br />Such gentle creatures, at home in the surf, <br />For youngster's sake spent all day on the sand. <br /> <br />From cliff-top their nursery, loud with sound <br />Was safe and secure in sheer dropp below. <br />Family antics, seal-shaped, would abound <br />Under warm sun as we watched the pups grow. <br /> <br />Came the day when, mother no longer there, <br />Hunger and instinct drove young to the sea. <br />From then much communal life became rare. <br />Loners, they now needed space to be free. <br /> <br />With bated-breath pleasure we saw them leave, <br />Knowing their element called them away. <br />For months they will forage the lonely deep, <br />But this cove will beckon again one day.<br /><br />Fay Slimm<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/lonely-seal-cove/
