Beaches

He emerged from the waters

walking a cruiser to drier land

Dipped mud from spokes

Clean

How did he get there?

Did the tide rise up before him?

Catch him by surprise?

Did the firm ground suddenly become quicksand under his weight?

Catch him?

I see it inching closer

A faded line

An ombré of hues

Slick with new wetness

Mirroring a grey sky

Nothing is blue

Marbled ripples

White

Veined

Turning over into itself

Distant again

He rides through it

Floaters fall like rain

We breathe in unison

I hear an ocean behind me

Feel the sun through the haze

See its rays reflected against the veil

Mirroring a shore

Nothing is blue

Tasting salt and ash

A soft sweet scent

Dogs circle me like wolves

The cards are calling

I wait for a gypsy to pass

She wades fully clothed

knee deep into the sea

I know the energy will pull her back

So I wait for her to become blurred

My vision is too good

And she still

Too clear

Too formed

Stopping every few feet

I think it’s safe now

They say to me

Lay bare

On this here sand

Lay them

Let them conjure

Let them call up

The words

Write them

Read them

The poems

Near water

Let them float up to the

To your

The

Your

Surface

Suffer not

The aching cracking breaking

of waves

Let them come

Sloshing

Soggy

Spraying

Misting

Effervescent

Leaving hints

Of salt

And ash

And memory

Of smoke

And beaches

And lovers

Called home