One Single Impression: Respect

I looked again
At a bit of what I thought
Was fluff
Blowing across the hard sand
After a night of rain
At the edge of the Atlantic

And found it was a crab
Easily caught in the wind and cast about
(And this, I presumed, was a good thing)

Until it landed very near my feet
And the open eye of my camera

And I froze,
Wondering how much life
I take from the Earth with every step.

I stood as still as the crab
Who sensed and therefore feared me.

I must move,
I thought.  So I did.

And I wondered:
How much life does the Earth give me
With every step,

And where do I take it?