<html><body><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div><br></div><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: wf_segoe-ui_semibold, "Segoe UI Semibold", "Segoe WP Semibold", "Segoe UI", "Segoe WP", Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Atlantic horseshoe crab; they are "royalty" about earth's creatures -- ancient, prehistoric, almost 450 million years old. This is a mystic poem, intended to be read aloud, like a prayer. It was written at Orr Hot Springs over the Easter weekend, 2017. </span></div><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div><br></div><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-size: medium;">THE HORSESHOE CRAB</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><br></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As kids, my brother Billy and I trapped a horseshoe crab at</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jones Beach.</span><br><span style="font-size: medium;">We trapped the crab in a little berm we made at the beach's</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="font-size: medium;">wrack line </span><br><span style="font-size: medium;">from gravel, shingle, and pebbles . At high tide, the crab</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="font-size: medium;">washed in and got trapped.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The crab looked lonely and sad, so Billy threw a few mollusk</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">shells and </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">some coralline algae </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">into the pool of seawater held back by the berm to make the</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">crab feel more </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">at home.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">But the crab would have none of it.<br> Dark brown with eyes askew, the crab struggled</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">to climb the berm;<br>its telson swinging from side to side like a sword, and its six</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">pairs of appendages<br>on the underside of its cephalothorax pinched and pinched the</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">air in desperation.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; background-color: #ffffff;"><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The horseshoe crab was trapped. Billy and I watched it</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">struggle for hours until the offshore winds </span><br><span style="font-size: medium;">picked up and the sun started to set. </span><br><span style="font-size: medium;"> The horseshoe crab has a large compound eye</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">with monochromatic vision</span><br><span style="font-size: medium;">found on each side of the prosoma; It has another five simple</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">eyes on the carapace,</span><br><span style="font-size: medium;">and two simple eyes on its underside, just in front of the mouth,</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">making a total of nine eyes.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><br></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I swear to God when that crab died, every eye blinked shut</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">all together for the last time.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><br></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This year, I will turn 65. North wind. Winter winds. "You are my</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Moon," the horseshoe crab calls,</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><br><span style="font-size: medium;">"I shall follow you and climb the continental shelf and emerge</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">at the shoreline in late spring to spawn."</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><br></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"We are One," my heart answers. "I, too, search for home, for</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a place in the light -- safe and free!"</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><br></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"I, too, am Spine Tail, whipping left, right," I go on. </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><br></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"I too, am All-Legs, pinching the air, past the children's</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">hands,.arms."</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><br></p><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"I, too, am Nine Eyes, seeing nine gates, nine worlds."</span></p></div></div><div><br></div></div></div><div><br></div></div></div><div><br></div></div></div><div><br></div></div></div><div><br></div></div></div><div><br></div></div></div><br></div></body></html>