Blankets, umbrellas, coolers
Sand toys, and bathing suits,
All decorate the gritty sand
Like bright flowers in a shop
Or colorful beach houses on the street.

Clasped in a chubby child’s fist,
A dusty red bucket
Sandy from years of beaches
Quickly fills with our treasures,
Shells, pebbles, and everything else on the beach.

We roam as ever-careful scavengers
Searching for the perfect shell or rock
To complete our quest
Two noble knights searching for lost gems
Or pirates digging up the sand for buried treasure.

My starched white shoes and itchy socks,
An older sister’s sneakers deemed fashionable
By a five-year-old’s judgmental eye
A new yellow sweatshirt, another a white hand-me-down,
Completing the outfits are matching pairs of adorable striped shorts.

An old fence to lean on,
Fields of daffodils behind,
A picturesque lighthouse
Sandy coast and green grass,
Two posing kids, shielding eyes against harsh light.

A camera, quick flash,
A moment captured in the bright noon sun,
By a capable mom,
Two parents proud of their two daughters,
A family happy on the Martha’s Vineyard coast.

Lighthouses bleached
By blinding sun and salty air
Line the uneven coast
Soldiers waiting for a command
Ready to cast their beams in the fast approaching night.