Washed up on the beach
barely breathing
she had travelled far
beyond the Andes
north of the equator
into cooler waters
At seven-feet-wide
it was hard to comprehend
how she'd gone so long unexposed
So they called her Hoodwinker
for often she deceived
those who tried
to get under her skin
Found too late,
and far from home
they assumed she took a wrong turn
"How lonely, strange"
they said
unaware that she just sought
her own path instead
Later they'd learn some things
from her sturdy skeleton
but they'd never know her side
of the life that she so staunchly chose