Beach

It’s a blue and bright deception

alive with calmness.

People on the end of lines hang over the jetty

waiting for a catch.

Dogs bound after whirling seagulls,

searching for abandoned chips.

There are walkers and readers,

sitters and runners,

and an old man looking out to sea.

His breath in and out with the tide,

he contemplates lonely longevity

as toddlers tumble onto the sand.

A salt-stained breeze lifts the skirts

of the ladies’ lunch club

as they settle down at an outside table

sharing heartaches with their wine.

The girl from the beauty salon

considers their potential,

drawing on her cigarette

before heading inside to rearrange

empty chairs.

Clouds gather before the sun sinks down,

splashing pink and orange across the sky.

Spades clunk into plastic buckets and the

flip flop of thongs and scuffs

trails back to cars parked down the street.

All around the weary sighs mark a

sunbeaten retreat from the beach.