requiem for a seal

oregon coast

at port orford
     a misnomer for aboriginal land
     stolen by congress and so-called settlers
     in the 1850s

a seal has beached
at the far end
of an empty lonely port
     claiming
     to still be working

straight up majestic rocky shoulders
old growth forested mountains
     within eyesight

are as good a resting place as any

the large smooth body
lay lifeless on shore
in a strange windswept position
beached by old age?
injured by man?

we fail again
to stay up late enough
for the sunset
a bit to our north
behind the sharp dark rock
that throws a shadow
     a tomb

--- e b bortz