In my mind, that place where fantasy
and I meet, I watched wave after wave
crash on the shore. I saw heartache
after heartache wash away the lines
in the sand. You can’t cross a line if
it isn’t there, can you?
I looked up at the dunes. I saw a big
woman waving to me. “Come on!” she
waved with one hand while the other
kept a large floppy sun hat on her
head. On the beach the sand was hot
in the midday sun and the water was
cold but there was always wind on
the dunes. Her light sundress blew
against her side and back.
I started to walk up the steep path
from the beach to the dunes. I lost
sight of her where the path zigzagged
as I neared the place where she stood.
When I got to the top, it became clear
that the woman was me.
As I laughed and sighed, I looked at
the beach. I saw a little boy playing
alone in the sand. He looked up.
There was something about him that
said he always plays alone. As I
waved, “Come on!” I knew that the
skinny tanned little boy was me.