Summer Day at Huntington Beach
I tick with alarm clock worry.
My sister is afraid of nothing.
Not the dark or death or
Jay Preslan down the street
who pushes kids in front of cars.
Look at her run into the water
while I stand squinting.
She doesn’t pinch her nose
to dive under. Doesn’t pause
before splashing back
strange splashing kids. Doesn’t heed
the lifeguard’s megaphoned warning
to stay away from the ropes.
Lake Erie grabs at the shore,
slurps it greedily in foaming waves.
I picture monstrous goggly-eyed fish
lurking under the pier,
ships skudded in the depths,
lost sailors forever unburied.
I inhale the curved scent
of suntan lotion, clench my toes
in the sand, stand still. Far out,
bobbing in foil-bright waves,
my sister is another being entirely,
straining at the boundary ropes
trying to see all the way to Canada.
Originally published by Silver Birch Press. Find more poems in my collection, Tending.
Laura Grace Weldon 
Did you see a glimpse of Russia from the rocks?
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If I squint hard enough, I convince myself I can see almost anything. Even then, not Russia.
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Oh I love this poem, Laura, thank you, a study in contrasts and big questions that sneak up on you. 🙂
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Thank you for your kind words Garrett.
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I love this. It is so evocative of summertime and sisterhood; just beautiful.
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I’m pretty sure my sister had no idea how much I admired and idealized her. Big sisters, what can ya do?
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LOVE the picture you paint here, dear Laura! “…foil-bright…” as adjective is positively BRILLIANT!!! Thanks for sharing this. I have spent many a happy, laugh-filled, or contemplative hour there. A couple winters ago, I walked out on the frozen waves; it offered a very interesting and different perspective of the shore. Hope you are doing well! Cheers and hugs! Amy
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It’s a different place than it was when I was a small child. I remember dead fish on the beach and clots of seaweed. The Clean Water Act came in and truly made a difference.
Cheers and hugs back to you!
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Incredible poem! Love it.
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Many thanks. You know, my fellow poet, how complete it feels to pack a whole moment into a few words.
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