“Change “
Sunshine and soft wind
draw me out of the house
and down the path to the beach, past the fire weed
with stems standing brown and mottled in the gully bottom,
past the brilliant yellow
of new gorse flowers
splashed high on the sides
against the blue of the sky.
Arriving at the beach
I find change everywhere I look– evidence of tides both high and wild. Gone are the welcoming patches of smooth sand.
Instead drifts of shingle
scatter the shore.
Gone is the pool of freshwater. Instead a small stream
flows through the stones
all the way to the sea.
Gone is the clean fringe of grass. Instead seaweed and sticks
are heaped in unruly piles.
But today the sea is calm.
The tide pools lie still,
smooth mirrors in the rocks.
I sit on the shingle
and marvel at the stones
each one unique and beautiful. I dip my feet in the icy water
sensing its sharp bite in my bones. I feel the warm sun on my cheeks.
The beach whispers to me
of wind and storm
of shifting danger
of constant change
of unexpected beauty.
Can you just be,
it asks?
Can you just love
what is here?
Can you just love
what is now?
Bridgid Normand © 2024