Beach

moonset on the dunes
the smell of last night’s bonfire
lingers in her hair
–
night tide-
stellar sands blaze
across the sky

approaching daybreak-
the sea air rimed with salt and
the taste of seaweed
–
sand and foam-
the gull’s cry
lingers

winter at the shore-
sun bleached clam and oyster shells
blend into the snow
–
approaching storm-
sea foam white
in the wind

waves crawl up the beach-
long acres of dune grasses
ripple in the breeze
–
prints in wet sand-
nesting plovers disturbed
by barking dogs

white scrims of sea foam
gauzy and delicate as
a dragonfly’s wing
–
seaweed-
sun dried by
the high tide line

driftwood and clam shells
dried seaweed and rushes line
the high water mark
–
curling waves-
preening ducks
bathe in the surf

a secluded beach
the plundered pirate’s chest lay
empty save the sand
–
flood tide-
sandpipers
brave the surf

seagulls hovering
wings outstretched and motionless
faced into the wind
–
sunrise-
beach sand in her
wind blown hair

the incoming tide
laps the shore and erases
our sandy footprints
–
whispering surf-
driftwood
in the reeds

crabs in the shallows-
a hidden sandbar barely
revealed by the tide
–
onshore breeze-
knots of seaweed
drying in the sun