under the turtle light by Sheila Dong
some towns modify their streetlamps to emit red light / because longer wavelengths are less likely
to confound / turtle hatchlings trying to find the sea / like we both found ourselves vacationing
here / where every night feels like the end of times / with that good old-testament bloodlight / b-
movie alien raid light / calm, we walk through this calamity / where the breeze is a thing of beauty /
and turtles point themselves to the stars / we, the cherry-syrup dead, laughing at our missteps / the
nearby-ness of the ocean / and somewhere, the turtlings, soft-shelled compass needles / flippers
leaving sweep-marks under moonlight / turns out even red light / leads turtles astray / better just to
switch off every bulb / when your eyes falter / listen for the waves / this is how we get where we
are going: / in the dark / by feel
to confound / turtle hatchlings trying to find the sea / like we both found ourselves vacationing
here / where every night feels like the end of times / with that good old-testament bloodlight / b-
movie alien raid light / calm, we walk through this calamity / where the breeze is a thing of beauty /
and turtles point themselves to the stars / we, the cherry-syrup dead, laughing at our missteps / the
nearby-ness of the ocean / and somewhere, the turtlings, soft-shelled compass needles / flippers
leaving sweep-marks under moonlight / turns out even red light / leads turtles astray / better just to
switch off every bulb / when your eyes falter / listen for the waves / this is how we get where we
are going: / in the dark / by feel
Sheila Dong is the author of Moon Crumbs (Bottlecap Press, 2019), and has had work published in Stirring, Rogue Agent, and Pretty Owl Poetry, among other places. They hold an MFA from Oregon State University and live in Tucson, AZ.
Prachi Valechha is a freelance cartoonist and animator from India. Valechha loves to make Toons and Toons for Tunes.
You can find more of their work at: instagram.com/rainbowteeth
You can find more of their work at: instagram.com/rainbowteeth