I watched the tide roll in
On the distant beach
The children of my neighbors running down to
The sand with their pails swinging
In hands too small to hold much else.

I could hear the barking of the solitary dog;
The shout of a father whose child had left
His sight a moment too long;
I saw women standing in the sun
Trading rumors and gossip and watched
Their alabaster arms go pink
As the afternoon pressed on.

I waited ‘til she appeared;
This vision in gossamer blue.
Daughter of a friend and friend
To a recluse who had spent too much
Time looking out his bedroom window
Watching the world and life drift by.

I remembered Sunday afternoon, when
She sat on my veranda . Inside,
Ice cubes cracked in the lemonade
On the bedside table. I’d come in,
She coyly grinned, if you’d just move
That pitcher into the kitchen.

Of course I pretended shock
And even some outrage. But
Mostly I just laughed.

Well of course.
I mean, I’d never.
She was joking, right.
I laughed as loud as her.
Then we spent the purple
Evening watching the tide roll out to sea
Until sometime after eight, when she took my hand.

You’re looking at the old calendar, she scolded me.
I’m in college, not kindergarten
And we’re not playing Monopoly anymore.
To that I just smiled and said, isn’t it me who’s
Supposed to be seducing you?

Why, she said, with that grin again
Don’t I have free will? Aren’t I
Allowed to enjoy some lemonade
In a room my dad would kill you in
If he ever knew I was here pouring
Myself a glass?

I told her she had a point
And the next day watched her climb the dunes
In a blue two-piece number
That I knew, in a moment, would be
My first step over the threshold
On a personal road to hell.

07/13/2011

Author's Note: You're it, M..and this time I borrowed the whole line..:)

Posted on 07/13/2011
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