Photography, Poetry, Travel
Are There Turtles in Heaven?
Come swim with me to a magical place
Come swim with me to a magical place where heavenly beams light up turtle’s faces.
It’s a parallel universe, a mirrored world where polka-dotted rays swirl amongst dark waters.
A play of light? An optical illusion? Perhaps, if you choose to see it that way.
Me, I prefer to float with clouds, defying gravity, not knowing which way is up and which is down.
The turtles know the truth of it. But can you blame them if they do not tell?
They choose to dwell in otherworldly realms.
And the entrance is known to only them.
While visiting Minneapolis’ Como Park Zoo and Conservatory last weekend, I pulled out my iPhone to snap a photo of the turtles swimming in the glassed-in conservatory. All around me, a cacophony of birdsong echoed against the glass walls. Ferns and palms spilled over and into the pool built for the turtles and rays to swim around in.
I didn’t even realize until I looked at the photo I had taken that the surface of the water would reflect the clouds and the ceiling panes overhead.
It looked like an imaginary world where turtles could fly into the heavens.
It’s always fascinating to me how looking at the world in just a slightly different way can evoke an entirely different perspective.
Erika Burkhalter is a yogi, neurophilosopher, cat-mom, photographer, and lover of travel and nature, spreading her love and amazement for Mother Earth’s glories, one photo, poem or story at a time. (MS Neuropsychology, MA Yoga Studies).
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Photos and story ©Erika Burkhalter. All rights reserved.
