The Day The Fishes Left the Sea

A truer story there will never be
As the tale of the day
The Fishes left the Sea
It was a sparkling Day
In early July
On a beach in Cape May
Not a cloud pierced the sky
A typical day by any means
In all of their splendor
Unfolding beach scenes
Children squealing in delight
Feeding the seabirds in overhead flight
Sandcastles emerging from the sand
Beach chairs, blankets, and sand pails
Speckled the land
Children running to and fro
Away from the waves
Teenagers vying for the perfect spot
To catch the sun’s rays
The sea air was as sweet as could be
And then
It Happened!
They left the sea
All of a sudden and all at once
A hush blanketed the land
It’s just not possible
Fish on the sand?
Hundreds, no thousands
Flip-flopping around
Tiny silver minnows
Covering the ground
They must know, they must
They can’t breathe air
Gasping and crying
It just wasn’t fair
All stood in disbelieve, all stopping to stare
Ten, then 20 they started to arrive
Squealing and squawking seabirds
Towards the helpless fishes
They began to dive
Jump little fishes
Back to the sea
Back to the ocean
To breath
To be free
What happened next?
Brings a tear to my eye
Humanity at its best
In Cape May on that summer’s Day
In July
For as far as the eye could see
Across the beaches the same reaction
Old and young, everyone
Sprang to action
Not a word was spoken
But everyone knew
The tiniest of God’s creatures were in trouble
And just what we each had to do
Everyone grabbed whatever they could
Buckets, cups even their hands would work good.
Giving these tiny fishes back to the sea
To swim, to be free
Became everyone’s only priority
On that July Day in Cape May
We worked together as one
No diversities, no quarrels, no boundaries
Getting the job done, all focused
All one
Gently we scooped up each little fish
Putting them back in the Sea
Working as quickly as could be
Carefully, ensuring to hurt not a one
So many people, all colors under the sun
So many people working together as one
And when not a fish was left on the sand
We all cheered, clapping giving ourselves a hand
We did it! We did it!
We set them all free
We returned the Fishes back to the Sea!
Quietly we returned to our blankets and chairs
With a spirited stride
Satisfied with our work
And a new sense of Pride
On that July Day on the beach in Cape May
No reporters were watching
No one did it for money or fame
A simple pure shared act from the heart
That left none of us the same
We could have all chosen to look away
But instead, we choose to save the tiny fishes
On that July Day on the beach in Cape May.
The End
This book serves as inspiration to all of those who no longer believe in the goodness of humanity. With the exception of the clapping, this is exactly what happened on that day in Cape May.