we were standing neck deep in water
bobbing on our toes to let a swell or wave
slide by without burying us, now and then
a wave and swell would combine and drown
us anyway, after the sputtering we’d laugh
but she wasn’t laughing then, just smiling
“that’s how I want to be, so people hardly notice
they talk about the surf, and gulls, the shells
the kids with their shovels and pails, the wind
never mentioning the glitter they squint their eyes against
then wake one morning and wonder what is missing
and exclaim, ’I didn’t know she did that!’
and maybe you and one or two others will say
‘yeah, that was her,’ and people will go quiet
and hardly notice the gulls have lost their way”
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