Edisto island

Nine dollar earrings

from a gift shop by the Sea Cow Cafe

carried home in a little brown paper bag

With a refrigerator magnet

that says Edisto, South Carolina

reminders of a COVID safe distancing day

On a small island beach

worn the next day to an airport

to send a grandson back to Indiana on a plane

Nine dollar earrings

from a gift shop by the Sea Cow Cafe

bright little sea turtles

Watermelon pink, Easter basket

plastic grass green ear danglers

to remember a day at a beach

Staked out nests of turtle eggs

blankets, beach chairs, boogie boards

umbrellas and ecotourism collide

Nine dollar earrings

from a gift shop by the Sea Cow Cafe

that trade winds blew

To a rack in a small store

on a barrier island off the Carolina coast

tiny pieces of hand-painted wood

Souvenirs in a jewelry box

made by third world sweat shop labor

for a bit of rice to take home to their nest

6-26-20