Castles of Sand

I would lend my will
To the world
To awaken.

Impatient flares define horizons
Caught beneath its rising eye
Who waits the sun to turn?

Morning burns, reminding
I am that which I behold.

Gulls, ruffle to the wind and rise
In silhouette-
Black rags flung across sweeping skies.

More blaze before blue
Depth beyond endurance
The clarity is- unbearable.

Disrobed of darkness
Pleasure seekers come to track the dunes.

Footprints in haste
Heavy with intent, imprint
Efforts etched
And then eclipsed
By the stroke of ephemeral tide.

Tourists play cast-away
Bending bikini bottoms
Milk-white into tanning rays.

Combing the shifting shoreline
Collecting shells; sea-slick and sculpted
Searching for elusive pieces
Of fossilized dreams.

Or mementoes of moments spent
Beyond the bounds of normalcy

Outside the realm of tedious time
Children on reprieve
From citadels of learning, descend.

Unburdened, they create castles built of sand.
Structures shaped of make-believe
To stand the test of tides.

Poetry and Photography by SS Matthews