At Matthew’s Beach
the toddlers in their bright clothing
converge along the water’s edge.
Constellations of families
intersect orbits
Two small girls and one mom
have pink broad-rimmed hats
And the larger girl reaches her arms
in the water again and again
making circular splashes.
The smaller one
sits in the shallows —
they both have sodden skirts
A small boy cries unconsolably
because there’s a scratch
through the picture on his bucket
And his mother won’t stop
using it to get water
to wash her children’s feet
A young man with green sunglasses
and two small boys
and a wife
addresses me as lifeguard
and I have to tell him
(as I told the boy with the scratched pail)
that it’s not lifeguard season yet,
that I’m just here.
©Wendy Mulhern
June 5, 2014
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