Image by Kanenori from Pixabay
speak of the tide's birth and death -
full of emptiness.
On my last diving trip, and backpacking adventure in Mexico in 2017, I dived in Cozumel and later spent some time diving the reefs around Akumal and Tulum. It was on one of these shore dives that I had a magical encounter with a Green Turtle that will forever remain embossed on my mind.
At the end of a very gentle drift dive, we sailed in from the reef on the northern part of the bay to finish our dive with a safety stop between 3-4 metres in shallow seagrass meadows. The grass was short and evenly cut in places while other areas were left long and uneven. I knew that green turtles were very selective in their eating habits and this encouraged me as I searched.
Time beat on in the warm shallows, the sun illuminating the green flecked meadow that seemed to stretch on into eternity. As we zig-zagged across the underwater grasslands I spotted a dome of green-brown to my left. Slight plumes of sand drifted up from around it and my heart raced as I recognised the profile of a turtle.
My buddy had moved about three meters ahead and I finned wildly to catch her up and tugged on her fins. As she turned to me in irritation I put one hand on top of the other and wiggled my thumbs in the sign for a turtle. She asked if I was sure and I nodded insistently and pointed before starting away. In my dash to catch up with my buddy, I had lost sight of it but had not lost my sense of direction and within seconds the turtle hove into view.
We slowed and I breathed out slow and deep to calm myself so as not to disturb the grazing animal. I checked my buoyancy and dumped a little air from my BCD so that I hovered just above the sand on the wind of my breath.
I used my fingers to quietly creep closer to the turtle who was still oblivious and only a few meters away. I hardly breathed letting slow deep breaths escape through my teeth to reduce the noise of my regulators. Her eyes were gentle as I watched her chewing slowly on the grass. The turtle noticed me and I stopped dead my approach, now only two meters away.
She was nearly as big as me and much wider, her shell patterned like the sun shimmering through waves onto the sea floor. Her eyes made a mockery of my concerns and in them, I thought I saw the wisdom of acceptance, the epitome of living in the now, of just being.
I may have anthropomorphized this gentle giant, she might have just been happy to have found some food, but at that moment I was truly happy. I was smiling so wide that I nearly lost the regulator from my mouth. This was one of those diving memories that will never fade.
True communion with nature!
After what seemed like an age but in reality, was no more than thirty seconds she lifted her head towards the surface and slipped slowly into the green haze, to disappear into the blue horizon.
I have decided to challenge myself for a month (until the 23rd of July) to post Haiku and accompanying blog on Hive at least 3-4 times/week. Each week will have a different theme based on picture prompts either from my own collection or from Pixabay.com or Unsplash.com.
This week's broad theme is Beneath the Waves.
In this second week, I will share pictures of underwater locations where I have scuba-dived in the past, and write a haiku/blog focused on these places.
To read more about the aesthetics of true haiku, and the difference between haiku and senryu, please check out my post: Haiku Vs Senryu - The Aesthetics of Form
Thanks for reading 🌿
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