starfish holiday

rain clouds loom in the east
downtown it's raining
southwest to the end of the bay
is the beach we seek -
blow the clouds back with wishes
and spells. little girl wants
to sit up front but this isn't
the sixites so she's strapped in
back, tired of promises, whining
she's seen water three times now
  someone sets a bottle
rocket off over the causeway.
she stops.
 for a minute,
 resumes.

all the way to the beach. the storm
is on the left, clouds slowly bubble
 like volcanic ash jellyfish and an anvil
headed shark swims over the top of them
out to our island. 


damn it might rain, says gramma. understated. 
mom says nothing. it's better that way.
they ride the outside curve of the cloud.
looks sunny where they're headed.























*







thunder across the bay
where the skyway bridge 
and the rest of civilisation 
swelters under dark skies.
lightening is swift
 but sound lingers


 
the edge of the storm
 sidles over the sun.

but wind blows from the west
we add hope to push it east
  swim in  receeding water
flirting with electricity.





*







the tide keeps going out and out.
leona is bigger than the ocean!
come back little girl, that's too far
under our toes,  cracked shells
the broken backs of tests
spilling seagulls and also
live sandollars and snails.
little girl makes a game  tosses
each back into the water.
 gramma finds
a small whole ,test . she turns
to her daughter.
ahhh  . the ocean gave us
one.  mom smiles it's dead
we can keep it. they've
been searching all afternoon.
she hands it to leona,
 who looks at it
briefly
don't throw it!
looks at gramma and mom
smiles and neatly
 drops it into the murky deep





*






it's futile but they search
for it anyway, a keepsake
  to take home
from a  midweek holiday
 a tie to  childhood
going back and going forward
like waves running over the beach

 mom goes back to keeping
little girl from walking across the bay
but gramma hopes to find...
pulls up her hand...

a starfish, oh look momma, look
i got a starfish! we all hold it 
briefly, long spindly legs
snake over her small palm
searching for the sea,
 for mother's sweet breath

later there will be her first
 fireworks . they explode
with all the thunder
that missed us.
the thrilling way they
  mimic   stars
oh so briefly
the terrifying sound of their light.