the boardwalk
poetry reading - audio & text
Killing summers on the verge of something /
(though unaware of what it was), /
we would listen to the ocean, roaring a hundred feet away, /
and wait for the tide to spit out /
its entrails of seaweed, jellyfish, & horseshoe crabs— /
sure to be picked clean by morning /
scavengers on a desolate strand of wizened earth, /
of bottle caps & broken glass— /
thinking mortal thoughts as its zephyr grew restless. //
What we needed was simple: tape, fishing line, a dollar bill. //
For us, the sky, a reflection of the sea, was a bowl /
rounding out our edges for the coming rain. O /
how every plank of the boardwalk glistened /
in the current of sandals & debris, letting /
the neon undertow of bars, arcades, & eateries /
have its way with us! In them, we knew the earth /
quivered (though not from delight), that it wanted to be /
lifted from time & space, the rustle /
& murmur of dreams in a clear-souled stupor. //
Like trumpeters at a funeral, we knew the spiritual kinship /
of underground figures; we rarely crossed the no-man’s-land //
of a glance with strangers, for fear that they could /
read our thoughts. But when the moon nestled in night’s velvet /
we would set the beach ablaze to count our wares— /
wallets, purses, jewelry—among its dance of shadows /
as intricate clouds adorned the skyline. /
Heroes of our own epic, we fought off the hounds of sleep /
with peppermint schnapps & purple haze, /
a minor rebellion just short of a pyrrhic victory, /
as the last of the driftwood turned to ash /
and the mood changed to something inscrutable, /
before we finally staggered home.


This is beautiful. The imagery is so vivid. Sentimental. Lovely.
“What we needed was simple, tape, fishing line, dollar bill.” love it, hits me just right. Analyze why? Nah, would ruin it. Just feel it. Thanx