When the spring high tide summons them
Up from their bottom dwelling depths
Urged to deposit many thousands of eggs
The horseshoe crabs emerge to procreate
That’s when the migrant shorebirds descend
Famished from flying long distances
Their transient stopover timed perfectly
To feast and fatten up eating those eggs
Depending on the horseshoe crabs to provide
High calorie sustenance before taking off again
Urged towards their own breeding grounds
Likewise impelled to pair up and reproduce
The birds have been here so much longer
Than our homo sapiens species
But the horseshoe crabs are much older still
One million times older than us
A lifeform existing since the Triassic Period
A living fossil from 250 million years ago
The horseshoe crab not actually a crab
Survivor of the dinosaur mass extinction
Living through climate extreme epochs
Adapted to conditions much harder than today
We who count years and study the fossil record
Can only marvel at their resilience and longevity
Even now when their population has been decimated
Harvested for bait and pharmaceutical testing
There is reason for optimism
Starting with regulations limiting the take
Birdwatcher advocacy made that happen
Based on a recognition of their inherent value
Occupying an important place in the web of life
Not just as a commodity serving human purposes
The future is certain to be a challenge
Contending with the impacts of the Anthropocene
For us and everything alive today
But the horseshoe crab has been through it before
