poems, essays, thoughts
I walk toward the ocean
breathing in the briny salt air
The stretch of sand seems much smaller
than what I remember as a child
And yet everything else
feels reassuringly the same
Wispy blades of dune grass sway in the breeze
as clusters of seagulls squawk overhead
White-capped waves join the chorus
crashing gently against the shore
Blue waters rush up onto the sand
and then retreat just as gracefully
The ocean’s susurrations
are a welcome lullaby
Why did it take me so long
to return?
I will wear my wrinkles well
and let the gray come to my hair.
I will resist the temptation to
measure my worth by the lack of soft skin
around my middle.
I will remember my mother and my mother’s mother
and my other grandmother and all the aunts
and I will feel privileged
to join a club of
supremely strong, wise and
beautiful women.
I will not bow down
while looking into the mirror
half-expecting to see a younger image.
I will smile with each memory of youth
that reminds me of how much
I have learned
from so many glorious mistakes.
Yet I will allow myself to pause
just for a moment
as I realize
how our bodies begin to fail us
just as we are beginning
to understand life.
the fragrance of dew 