withering heat
schoolyard tetherballs hang
against their poles

blazing sun
the fly caught beneath
a wine glass

invisible fence
. . .
no sign of the dog

a shorebird’s red bill —
the tide rushing
into a mussel bed

quiet waves
the herring gull’s
pink legs

the longest day
slowly the cat
licks each paw

thunder . . .
the white side
of the leaves

a gull slips
on the polished handrail
rolling thunder

beachcomber
grains of sand fill
her smile lines

leaving for home —
strands of seaweed wrap
around our ankles