RED PAIL, BLUE PAIL

Red pail, blue pail

My two young sons are building a castle

It is fully equipped with a moat

Secret tunnels and hidden entranceways

I sit yoga-style

My legs crossed and settled in the cool, moist sand

My toes spread outward to grind the sand between them

As I listen to the silence

Of human voices except the occasional directive

Coming from my elder son

Orders to his younger brother to, “Stop collapsing the castle walls!”

Encircled by the human silence is the roar and crash of the waves

A sound I can depend upon

A voice that goes deeper within

To an unknown, untapped reservoir of memory

It resonates with an older being that responds when

Called by the water’s voice

Some ancient memory reminds me that this present life

Is as fleeting as a single wave’s abrupt and forceful arrival and

Just as unstoppable as its departure

Mere moments

Here then gone

Filled by the unending arrival of another

And my life and the lives of those I love

My Ancient Family in its entirety

Our respective, interwoven lives

Are glimmers of radiance

That silently shine

In the life by the sea

(By the Sea, Caladesi Island, Florida with Robert F, Kailen and Aidan)