/ breathe in

  breathe out /

saltiness perfuses the air;

she’s reminded of dusks touched 

with wind whipping around her

hair that falls into bare faces.

/ step on

  step off /

flip-flop encased feet meet 

sharp & jagged-cut rocks

that reek of piscine seaweed

but bleed black charcoal.

/ look up

  look down /

sunny reflections on the water,

constant days spent with her sun,

embodied by the mirrored tan skin 

everyone enamores & clambors for.

/ reach left

  reach right /

to the red crabs that race ahead 

pincers that push off of tiny feistiness;

beady eyes seek edges & creeps:

shadows (nightly & living).

/ time ticks

  time tocks /

secrets lurk under her surface,

shadows scheme with each depth;

like lavender lilacs in the sea,

ocean’s beauty is hallucinatory.

/ ocean’s ebb 

  ocean’s flow /