Beach Rituals
At sixteen my son and his two friends
are cresting the first wave of manhood –
their arms and legs extend
from their torsos like freshly molded
coils of clay, and a glaze of down
glistens on their upper lips.
After slapping on a few dabs of sunscreen
they trudge across the sand, in the wake
of three Venus de Milos with dimpled hips.
Laughter trails away with the cries
of gulls and breakers. A breeze carries
the scent of salt, mollusks, and seaweed
to my spot under a lime-green tent,
where I’m sheathed in a long-sleeve blouse,
protected with sunglasses and a hat.
They bare their chests beneath
a sun nailed to the sky, poised to forget
that I’m in the background, waiting.
***
This one was supposed to be about routines, but I veered from the theme a bit. It’s hard to write or even think about routines when I’m at the beach.
From my vantage point on a bench outside the Venice Library there’s a giant palm tree, a live oak with a wide canopy,and a lovely sea breeze calling me back to the waves. I miss you all, but I’ll catch up when I return on Sunday. I have a few poems to write between now and then, since I’m a day behind with napowrimo!
Balanced On the Edge 
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