along the shore of pink the boardwalk rose
the rose balloons can't keep up, so
ice cream melts and so do clouds, speckled.
strawberry flavors, unkempt cones, chocolate.

the other day i was on the waves
and, overwhelmed by the wake,
it crashed, i crashed. pummeling
that sand, that shore: baptism in reverse.

the candy shop, the bookstore, the
arcade, funland, the t-shirt shop, the
shell shop, the gift store, a tattoo parlor,
a hat store, boardwalk fries, purgatory.