I feel foxes tumbling
outside my window
butterflies escape
much like their color

To the naked eye
my vision never ceases
capturing the same
essence time and thyme

two animals
finding home
between the sand
and the trees

one hunting to eat
two flutters in heat
a ripening life
like picking strawberries

All Thanks!
To those near and to those far,
from the great waves with crests akin to that of a mare,
and the beaches who accept these wild forces,
with open arms of sand and debris of stories untold in unknown waters.
And as these sands of time foster hardy grasses,
These grasses shelter the seeds of tall palms,
Palms foretold to watch over the hermits in their caves,
and to guard young starlings,
whose wings float high above all.

morning light spills upwards from the horizon,
salt lingers in thin air
tangerine skies watch over as we take the road
filled with anticipation
we turn the stereo on
sing to our favorite song—
there is no other way to escape
but this—
you, me, the road and the wind
brushing against our skin.

we pack our bags,
wrap our soap bars
spray our favorite perfume,
laughing as we peek inside each other’s purses
like Pandora’s box
wondering what else to try—
yellow sunglasses, ball caps
an oddly familiar feeling
like rummaging a newly-cleaned closet.

wind-blown and sun-kissed,
we take the path to paradise
in bikinis pastel and printed
hair braided,
glare of sunshine touching our faces
building memories from scratch—
nothing but the sand and the shore
and the splash of the waves
against the grainy surface.

your head rests on my shoulders
as we watch the daylight fading—
hues of pink, orange, purple, and blue
painted on the sky by an invisible hand
thinking there is no goodbye as beautiful as this.

I surely know you from another life or lifetime
There is something familiar about your circuitous smile
And the off centered eyes that needlessly roam the room
We share momentary glances as subdued as a whisper
Challenging each other for a longer glimpse
What a strange feeling in a nearly empty coffee shop
Sadly I remember
I remember your face
I remember your tears
I remember your hopes and fears
But I forget your name
That summer at Long Sands when I loved tennis
And you loved salt water taffy
We were thirteen, too young our parents said
Too young for love, but maybe in another forty years they joked
I remember the smell of the salt water taffy
I smell it now as the memories waft
Her name is on the tip of my tongue

Searing memories of love gone past,
pillars of sand that buckle
at high tide's first crash.
The castle carefully crafted with ***** firmly
in hand, but the waves destroyed it,
my walls, my structure, my protection
and then ran, leaving trailing footprints
outlined in the sand of its receding wake.

It's just a house
on four posts
that managed to encase
my heart in it
and lock it up
with the key.

It's just a house
that got swallowed
and my heart went with it.
Locked up and lost
into the sea.