The Observable Essence of Change**

The Observable Essence of Change

 

(The Evolution of a Program’s Charming Artifact)

 

-I-

 

I was new to the anti-Darwinian wonders of Medicare

When I arrived at Arbor Creek in Southport, North Carolina.

 

Now, I consider myself to be a kind of charming artifact

Of that program’s astoundingly generous goodwill.

 

But I’ve always been a shining role model for men

Who prefer timely adaptation to untimely death.

 

That is observable in my love for walking,

As daily exercise is a favored activity

 

Of those who wish to continue on

 

In their pursuit of eternal life -

 

Especially in an upscale environment

That has abundant public access

 

To a beautiful ocean beach.

 

In the warm months, you can see dolphins

And small fishing boats just beyond the sandbars;

 

And of course, swimmers and seashell collectors

Are always parts of the Coastal Carolina scene.

 

But each day, those things come at you

In different colors and at different angles,

 

 

And that changes how you look at them.

It even changes how you look at yourself

 

Because what changes outside of you

Necessarily changes what goes on within.

 

-II-

 

But Oak Island is emphatic about this in the off-season,

When the sky ruffles, and the wind gets a little nasty.

 

By then, the summer people are back in their actual homes,

And thousands of birds pour in from as far away as Alaska.

 

The laughing gulls decrease in number,

And you see more blackbacks and ring-beaked gulls,

Usually in the company of terns and affable sanderlings.

 

The cormorants keep to themselves,

As do the loons that come in from Minnesota

And the willets that inexplicably change appearance.

 

-III-

 

Of course, the brown pelicans

Are always going someplace serious �"

 

And everything about that activity

Suggests gradual, evolutionary movement,

Which, to me, is the observable essence of change.

 

So, even if my walks fail to extend my time here,

They do make me appreciate what I am trying to extend,

Which is the opportunity to stay on the move �" to change.