
Lowering Tide
By Lorraine Caputo
Wind blows tendrils,
cirrus of drying sand
across the beach
sea retreating, flowing
further out
leaving behind
Jellyfish high from ebb
or to be washed once
twice by sullen waters
retreating, flowing
glutinous globs, crown
fanned out upon dark sand
A trio of buzzards peck
at the carcass
now nearly bare of meat
only bones & feathers left
& the tell-tale bright
turquoise feet

Wandering troubadour Lorraine Caputo is a documentary poet, translator and travel writer. Her works appear internationally in over 500 journals and 24 collections of poetry – including Orinoco Plains (dancing girl press, 2025) and Pastiches – A Peru Road Trip (Origami Poems Project, 2026). She also authors travel narratives, articles and guidebooks. She is a Parliamentary Poet Laureate of Canada honoree (2011) and multiple Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominee. Caputo has done literary readings from Alaska to the Patagonia. She journeys through Latin America with her faithful knapsack Rocinante, listening to the voices of the pueblos and Earth.