What about the others like me?

I was locked in a ball tangled
of fishing nets and lines;
sat on the sand beach, 
like a rock, can't move.
Peeking through the hole 
in the ball, I saw 
a young man approaching. 

I struggled to move away
from the man; to the water;
I cannot budge, locked in the ball.

He stands over me.
"O, you poor turttle," he says.
From his pocket, he takes
a knife and begins to cut
the entangled fishing lines.
I want to run, afraid
but cannot move an inch.

Little by little, the lines 
begin to unravel; I can breathe now;
still, in fear.
What seems like an hour later,
the loosens lines free me;
only then do I realize 
the man's good deed.

As I crawl to the water, 
I think, what about 
the others like me, somewhere?

(This is published in The Weekly Avocet, #657, July 6th, 2025.)

© Byung A. Fallgren