I wonder what the tiny clams think
As we dig in the sand uncovering them
Surely we are much scarier than the surf
The surf tosses and shuffles them around
But by my hand they are uncovered
The little foot extended looking to scurry away
Digging deeper into the sand
Sand that is in my hand
Giving them a false sense of security
We got away! But really they are my prey
I wonder what the blue jelly fish think
As we collect them in buckets
Their gelatinous bodies undulating
Yards worth of tentacles dragging
Hanging outside of their bucket prison
But no amount of pulsating will carry them away
I wonder what the seagulls think
Substituting more of their diet with chips
Than with the meats of the dunes
Flying in perfect stillness
A dancing duo. Wind meet friend.
Watching us from above
Sensing from miles away when food is being flung
Their life lived on this expanse of brown sands and seaweed
I wonder what tiny minnows think
As each wave carries them up the beach
And around my legs as I sit in the sand
Sometimes they scramble to find the receding tide back out
And sometimes they stick around to nibble
At hairs attached to my legs
Sometimes they are trapped in pools
But they patiently wait for the next wave
To take them back out again
I wonder what my daughter thinks
As she lets the waves crest over her
Salt water stinging her eyes
Tossing her hair into her face and across her eyes
Staring across the endless view of waves
Water colors changing with depths
As Pelicans dive and dip for a snack
She is on this beautiful Earth
In an existence of a timeline that is impossibly hard to fathom
Playing from day to day
Without knowledge of the larger linearism of life
Safe from thoughts of mortality
Thinking she is safe
Is it then a stretch to think she has no concept of being trapped either?
Does she share in the obliqueness
Of one’s own place in the world
Much like the clams, jellyfish, seagulls and minnows?
Are we truly trapped when we do not see the boundaries?
When Power Consumes, Poetry Cleanses... 