Florida Poem

In the mangrove trees the upside down jellyfish lay on the floor Pulsating in a neon glow The barracuda glides on top of the brackish water Where the Florida salt water meets the fresh This oasis exists on the canal by my home I lower my canoe down the dock onto the intercostal way Where the winds can carry you right out to sea Take a left but veer right to avoid The tugboats and water taxis that share the path Another right past the old folks home Where the sunbathers leathered and bronze sit and gab About the clouds blocking the rays A little further under the canopies the only chatter Comes from the parrots and the fiddler crabs Sinking by the hundred into their homes as I pass by I'm alone but not alone surrounded by sentient beings Clustered in groups of their likeness The schools of needle nose fish and the flocks of parrots The juvenile butterfly fish paired off for life Even the barnacles band together Holding tightly to the hull of my canoe I am on my own but I am never alone