We gather on the beach
eating the sun
like starving people
it has rained so much these past months
my skin has forgotten
the rub of heat
the repose of seeing the world so still
no rain drops to swat at like flies
somebody makes a bonfire
faces flush with wine
kids climb the cliffs
parents look nervous
but someone says
so nice to see them roam free
the parents know this
but what if one of those worst things happens
though they agree
it is too gentle a day
for tragedy
a man yells
and we all jump
fingernails dig into flesh
but he is pointing
and smiling
dolphins jump
black and shiny like underwater horses
someone says
so nice to see them roam free
the kids stop to look too
even as their feet itch
to run and run and run.