In memory of a Loggerhead Turtle named Jonah

Jonah, did you know
Though you were a turtle, we loved you?
Did you know
That one day you would swim the ocean
Did you know
That you would touch our lives forever
People from around the world
Came to visit you, a loggerhead turtle
In a marine life center
And though we never touched your shell
You touched our hearts
We gazed on you in wonder
And now we ask ourselves
Why did you return, after your release?
To be found in the Indian River Lagoon
With a fish hook and line inside you,
And Lethargic Loggerhead Syndrome
Did you come to see your friends, one last time?
Before you would take your last breath
To be now in his eternal presence.
*Lethargic Loggerhead is a neurological disease that results in paralysis in sea turtles.
Heartstrings Two, Copyright © 2008 by Library of Congress