L
You bob and slap at the waves who stole your shovel. The next swell returns it to your lap, you giggle. The sand is collected slowly; as you climb over pebbles, navigate around sea glass and shells.
Your brother dog paddles and speaks to the sea in a language and world of his creation, while you build your world in a white pail with a red shovel. A tern pauses in midair, hung on a shifting wind, haze burns off the sound and an ice cream trunk tolls its bell to children’s screams.
Dizzying: all the people – a cascade of umbrellas, blankets, beach chairs, smiles and sand. As I try to find the words, the embrace, my feet, the air to tell you and your brother she is gone.
I picked you up first and you seemed to already know. You were squinting and your body stiffened as though sensing the harshness of that first sting. People paused, people looked.
Seconds turned to
days
months
years.
Your brother dog paddles and speaks to the sea in a language and world of his creation, while you build your world in a white pail with a red shovel. A tern pauses in midair, hung on a shifting wind, haze burns off the sound and an ice cream trunk tolls its bell to children’s screams.
Dizzying: all the people – a cascade of umbrellas, blankets, beach chairs, smiles and sand. As I try to find the words, the embrace, my feet, the air to tell you and your brother she is gone.
I picked you up first and you seemed to already know. You were squinting and your body stiffened as though sensing the harshness of that first sting. People paused, people looked.
Seconds turned to
days
months
years.