Somewhere up the coast
It was up the coast, perhaps four miles,
we pulled out our pastries, my thermos, the blanket,
we watched a chill sea, all cloaked in fret,
we saw it tumble waves and spray mist from nothing.
You were pulling off your cardigan to put on a jumper
I was staring at my shoes frayed and weary
You kept wriggling, no seating quite right
And I just gloried in the joy of sitting down.
That’s when it happened, right out of the blue
It tumbled from a sunlit sky just a throw and
a spit and
a motion away
Azure plastic. Dazzling as it caught the light
Beautiful in its translucent form, dancing
on the breeze, leaping in the heat, carefree I guess
we cannot know for sure
Wild plastic. Quite a sight. To see it in its natural habitat
so unconcerned at our presence as we sat, transfixed,
daring not to make a sound as we were pinned in place.
The breeze today
was our friend
and blew so mild
across our way
Bringing that little blue bag ever closer.
You, jumper half on, one arm in, one flailing free,
Tensed. Sensing it come closer, nearer, all so nearly there
I wondered if you’d reach out, it was so small after all.
Your hand.
I held my breath, so as not to change the wind’s inclination.
I think it was a polka,
if one of its own devising
with steps made for footless creatures
who moved with grace and gracelessness
by turns
It may have been a waltz,
one that was easy,
for lazy dancers,
with elegance but no urgency,
whose steps were so tight
they wouldn’t disturb a shadow
As the sea gently sang and I sipped my thermos straight
from its lips
The wild plastic turned its merry way.
You held out your fingers a touch too early, a little too late
And it fled. Lost in the fret, just
four miles
up the coast.