Watermark
       

WalkingTra Ban with my sister,
the vast expanse of beach empty,
silent except for a skylark
out to distract—I resist an urge
to discuss a novel I'm reading,
the meal we'll share later;
am rewarded by a flock of dunlins
gliding in, peck-pecking the tideline;
find myself humming between the saltwater and the sea sand ...
As we approach, the birds take off,
retreat along the strand.
I stop, inspect the marks they've made -
tiny arrows leading nowhere.

On our way back I notice the tracks
are gone, washed away by the sea—
just as our footprints will disappear,
all trace of us having been there.
I catch my sister's eye, smile.
I will remember this walk
because so little happened
and we never spoke about it.

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Copyright © 2019 Moya Roddy All rights reserved
from Out of the Ordinary
Salmon Poetry
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission