by Perry McCarney

Created on: April 05, 2009   Last Updated: November 23, 2009

Bailey's Beach 1970

The sand dune hills tower up high,
From the top I can see so far.
I stretch my hands up to the sky
And watch as waves cross the sandbar.

Then out and out further I look
To a horizon that seems so vast.
Like Robinson Crusoe in the book,
I scan the edge to sight a mast.

But patience and calm are not my way,
My nine-year-old body hums with life.

Dreams and thought are not for today;
Action and activities instead are rife.

A quick leap forward over the brink,
Hitting the slope twenty feet down
Before any chance to worry or think.
I slip, slide and roll like a clown.

I roll to a stop on the bottom slope,
One scrape slightly stinging my arm.
No cause for worry, I won't mope,
It's nothing much, no real harm.

The tide is out so the beach does stretch
Wide before me as well as along the shore.
Teenage boys their sand-yachts fetch,
"Give me a ride, please?" I implore.

The boy who's driving sits behind me
As we speed so fast across the sand.
My older sister kissed him for my fee
And will go with him to see a band.

The sun has climbed the sky past noon,
So I hurry back across the little stream.
My belly rumbles, but lunch is soon,
Then dessert, strawberries and cream.

With energy drained and stomach full,
I sprawl on the couch in our family batch.
As my thoughts and senses slowly dull,
I know for sure, today will have no match.

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