Object Permanence
Exhibit A: the Sea
The mercury levels were rising. We drove to Mexico
to buy cheap shellfish. We huffed gasoline,
entered the blogosphere, watched
the numbers drip down the screen.
I stepped from the car into a glade of honeysuckle,
followed the footpath to a beach. Braced against a wave.
Took in a mouthful of sand. I want to be this simple again.
A body diving under while waves scan over.
I glided over debris, over beds of kelp. It rained
and the colors arced over a green field.
It was a sun-warmed landscape. It was steeped
of gasoline. I thought my heart was in it.