as I watch you
walk into the waves
I think of Virginia
writing the waves
but she walked into a river
let it unravel her
back into ribbons of time
I wonder
how she chose the stones
like her
you look life full in the face
it’s the letting go
you’ll struggle with
you’ll want the waves
to shatter you
as you keep stepping
towards the sun
refusing to blink
from the edge lands
amongst the shadows
I watch you
then study how the shadows
flood the folds of the dunes
how they pool in your footprints
how despite their darkness
they sparkle
how sand is just tiny stones
how everything
under enough heat and pressure
can turn clear
become light
around me
tufts of grass
sigh in the sunlit gusts
snapped from the sea
I’m reminded again
how on clear winter days
shadows blaze blue
spilled upon snow
how the sky
is always touching the earth
how the river
is always calling
how a burning barn
sounds like rain
Andrew Martin, originally from Bristol and now based in Devon, has a varied career spanning wildlife illustration to NHS software development. As founder of Shoals of Starlings poetry press, his work has earned acclaim in competitions and notable publications. He creates visually captivating picture poetry books.