Deep in a volcanic sea cave
crimson crabs hang from the ceiling
scuttle along walls, clattering pincers
gather in their hundreds
in affront
as our boat noses in,
engine stilled.
We have raced across open ocean
slamming over waves
to be claustrophobically enclosed
looked down upon by crustaceans
never before have I felt
such an visitor to my own planet
insignificant in the face of the whale and the dolphin
and now these outraged crabs.
Copyright © 2018 Kim Whysall-Hammond
Linked to the Earthweal Challenge “The Animal Gaze” :
The Cheesesellers Wife 