poem by Li Read, realtor on Salt Spring Island

"so...

yes...
        by the seaside, we two.

Someone slightly ahead of us, looking out
over gentle waves,
space calling
her, too, like it calls
us.

Your shoes are still on, of course.
Sand, hard, baked in sun,
ocean quiescent...
                           no storms today.

No arguments of wind and water,
no boiling waves,
no thunder of sea.

Today the sky
and the sea
and the water
meld.

Shimmer, sparkle, summer
warmth.

Oh, let's hang onto this image, 
this gentleness of yesteryear...
let's follow this adventurer
walking before us, her footprints marking
her path.

Let's wander along the shore,
our dog pelting down the sand,
the shouts of the gulls,
the slapping of gentle waves...

a siren song.

They knew what they were about, with old Ulysses!
Let's go, too, and never mind the morrow."

(L.R.)