Rockaways

On the Rockaways, May 26, 27th

1
as the cars stream by
as the sun warms up
as tourists with helmets
instruct tourists without helmets
as the street corner sinks into the sea
as the ship pulled out of the channel
all hands on deck

2
as the sun turned some pink and others brown
as the child playing got sand fully caked into her braid
as the parks department truck got stuck in the sand and had to be towed by a tractor
as the couple fought with aggressive outstretched fingers
as the man lost the fight and slumped back to the street
as the tide came in
as the sand burned feet
as a man who’s name i’ll never know scuttled along the beach
as the man was wearing short shorts restraining his skinnyfat frame with a saran wrap belt
as the man rummaged in the sand
as the man filled his pockets with what he found in the sand
as he assumed dog pose and was coated liberally with sunblock
as his belly nearly touched the ground
as my hand intertwined your hair
as the whale that surely was out there
breached the surface of his ocean
to breathe
and observe all that was his kingdom