Harbor Seal

She did not seem 
            focused 
                        on any one thing.
She swam
            the river
                        dark mottled face 
            above the surface
                        her nose
                                    pointed up stream.
 
            But     then she turned
her face neck     fair
            bare belly
                 to the sky
                        and closed her eyes—
as if to listen   
            or remember
                        or memorize. 
 

Copyright © 2015 by Amanda Hawkins. “Harbor Seal” originally appeared in Watershed Review. Reprinted with permission of the author.