Deliberately
Destin
May 1, 2021
The Return
sunrise appears forward
disappears behind,
water never changes course
stray bodies scurry underneath
never to be seen again;
children crisscross my view
elders not far behind
sandpipers hide as the newly
abandoned currents recede
into an oblivious past;
nonchalant crafts propelled
by wakes drift past surfers
waiting for the right one
getting suntanned shoulders
as reward for patience;
with consciousness, walkers
meander by the shores
occasionally letting the water
wash their feet's soles in
return for polite behavior;
poles for fishing stand idle
listening for fish sounds to
correct their bad postures
and the white sands of innocence
turn tan by the dirty green water;
umbrellas shade the passing moments
spectators sharpen their eyes
on the young visions of beauty
strolling endlessly to nowhere not
apologizing for where they've been;
bronzed bodies boast their colors
after weeks of enhanced days
spent frolicking without clothes
except that which is legally required
on beaches not otherwise posted;
tenants in common relax in
loungers resting their fantasies
and mutual behaviors practiced
in vehicles that brought them here
remembered from previous years;
madness transform age when
time has been casted into memories
hung on the wall or carried
around on phones and retrieved
when boredom reaches its limits;
sights and sounds mix with
smells and currents mixed with
sun and sand, waters and clouds
and a gentle wind always passing.
Edge of Coolness
the afternoon heat cooled
by the morning wind
from the north lingers
in our gulf location...
waves beat against our
southern borders
much like the waves
of the east coast
gone unnoticed until
memories serve the
caretakers of the summer
and the fall fishermen
who stole the beach
with poles in hand and
covering their bald heads;
lightly baked we became
human potatoes without skins
and without the salmon we
will never catch here,
knowing the cold bears no
resemblance to our sensitivities
with which are left us;
rental arrangements leave us
confused yet unconcerned
with the future of doubts
and the peculiar way we
all seem to address the
fading of youth differently
until the salt waters are
filtered through our senses
and we are once again
reminded that youth knows
not what we have gained
nor have lost
nor have forgotten
along the way...
the way that they have yet
to endure or accommodate.
Balance of Wills
watery colors lighten their approach
dark to light with white caps
swells without waves flow freely
at the request of currents who know
no limitations...
persistent and relentless from
one shoreline to another in its
quest for dominion over land and
all the creatures carried with it;
journey's end not in sight
today nor tomorrow
nor centuries hence or
millennia previously spent
in quiet isolation and solitude
from the tears and fears of life
with its lifeless form
taking and giving as if its
passage was some form of lottery;
a journey of a soulless entity
boundless and free...
contained by gravity's force
but never occupied nor controlled
by the universal will that
maintains balance over us all.
Once Comforted Here
on these shores
a thousand times a thousand
years ago... you walked...
slept, fished, and lived
like some animal
bound by no circumstances
nor remorse
for living as you did
without harm
without fear...
as if the day awaited
your awakening
allowing your control over
all you surveyed
yesterday
and the day before,
hoping your future would
be shared
after going beyond life
into the world
of ancestors whose
lives were recorded on
the walls of caves
in which you
lived temporarily like the
crops on the land
you once farmed when
home was home and you were
all together and no
need to wander anywhere
much less the shore
you now walk...
alone and abandoned
neglected by those who
you once knew
when life was simpler...
but, night's day found you
where you wanted
not to be like so many
who walked before you,
never returning
to that which they knew
and in whose arms you
were once comforted.
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