From shell to shell we hopped
Outgrowing, sleeping around
Then we found that the old sea torn barrel
Was still anchored into the corral floor

We dreamed that far away above the sea
There were places to sleep away the days
Where the stinging sea salt smells sweet
Far away past the crabs and the corral reef
Thirty thousand leagues; I’ve heard it rumored
A place where the sea salt dries and turns to sand
Dry feet in the very best kind of way

In the sea torn barrel we slept
The bubbles retreating to Shangri-La
We imagined them rising from the waves
Dried and warmed in the sun’s eyes
Lying in the sand somewhere with dry skin

We would follow if not for the comfort
Of the sea salt and the cold waters

In town the chimneys will be working
Lazy clouds slowly climbing brick conversing
Until their destination is reached
And the sky’s icy fingers pull them away

We’ll walk along nearly empty streets
And notice that time itself has fallen dormant
Sleeping alongside the frosty windows
Littered with fanciful children’s drawings

Our bench in the park will be waiting for us
Secluded from the brick and cobblestone
Listening to the glass encased leaves whisper
We’ll take our seat, eyes half-closed
And I’ll ask you if you feel alright
My words will split in half
Echoing into the distance and dissipating
As vapor near the tip of my nose

We’ll find the place by that gnarled oak
Where the snow drifted forms a frozen grove
Where peace grows like unattended wildflowers
Where one final breath will heat the air
And I’ll lay asleep in the snow

In the town the chimneys will continue
Unnoticed with their seasonal labors
While you walk beneath the canopy
The man from the curio shop will sweep
Clearing the path for you

I will sail across the sky stretched thin
A cloud of smoke, fainter, then fainter yet
A single breath in frozen air
Then just an echo far in the distance

During lunch we asked Her many things about the world
I would ask of foreign shores and things beneath the waves
Her face would glint, but her mouth would not say
It was enough for us to ask the questions
We never needed or sought the answers

After lunch I often went exploring along the rocks
I called it exploring, but in actuality I was returning
Nestled in the rocks was an enclosed pool of water
A single window for the sun, kept secret in the rock
In the pool were fish of many sorts and anemone
But it was in the rocks that I hid my treasure
An empty conch, a fishes spine, a collection of corals

My favorite was always the shell
Probing inner soft passages
Never quite reaching its evasive core
Years of lapping waves had worn a hole in the crown
Bubbles poured from it as it sunk

Many stories my Mother told
Of heroes and crusaders who sought the King
Through deserts, and cities, and oceans they passed
Searching out the Brothers and the glory of the struggle
Tales of deeds unknown to man
Flowered from lips to child ears
And it was these stories that stole my life
It was in these stories that I discovered Purpose
A wisp of smoke from Nothing’s tail

My Mother would tell us stories jokingly
Teasing us if ever we once believed
But She never knew that what She told
Became Holy gospel in my Heart
Many times my secret place
Would replace my thoughts of quests
But when the tide rolled high along the shore
And flooded my secret place
The shell could not captivate
And quench my search inside
I dreamt of adventure and finding Dragons
Leaving the beach behind
I would watch the sun sink in the sea
Hoping to glimpse what lie beyond
Other beaches, other peoples
Other ways of seeing Life
The Seed that was planted so long ago

The beach became a series of questions
Why does the sand look as it does?
Why do the tides come in and retreat?
What is the purpose of the conch shell?
Everything that is and was dissipated
And that innocent child disintegrated

In oyster beds along the seas
Empty shells sleep in sand
The waters caress and hold
And wear the hulls away
In sands along the breaking beach
I collect the shells with care
Purple color waves smooth
On long forgotten jewels
In empty spaces along the rock
Diamonds sleep unfound
A million years of crushing force
Clean night as pure as sea
But in the air along the skies
I saw the Dragon part the clouds
On Blackest wings it soared on high
And took my life away

I remember my Mother’s figure
Grow thin and drift away
The beach began to move
And swallowed the entire sea
An endless expanse of desert
Stretched in every direction
The waves, the rocks, my secret place
A giant plane of sand

It was then I felt the Nothing
Creep from the earth into my head
Cities and smoke replaced horizons
No water, no red plastic buckets
No simple picnic basket lunches
There was Nothing