Up to my knees in sea water
Feet sinking in the sand
Watching my girls play at the water’s edge
With shovels and pails
Ocean breezes carry
Bits and pieces of their laughter and singing
I hear my son’s adolescent delight
From beyond the sandbar
Between the breaking waves
Where the water is deep
My two year old hesitates
Not quite trusting the water
That laps at her feet
Then recedes again
Her older sister cannot wait for the waves
To reach her open pail
Running at them impatiently
Water splashing her face
I am close enough
In case they need me
Looking out onto the horizon
Where the water meets the sky
Drawing my focus in closer
To where the waves break
I see my son
Old enough to venture out to his chest
Riding the surf
Feeling the full force of the waves
I am not too far
In case he needs me
Half way in
Half way out
Up to my knees in sea water
Feet covered in sand and shells
Not moving in or out
Against the grain of the continuously moving waters
Right in the middle
Where they need me
Between ebbing waters of the eroding shoreline
And the turbulence of the open ocean
