Finding Emily
I never garner shells along the sea
or venture cliffs beyond those sandstone caves
and not remember you. Contorted oaks
that brush the lawns and mesmerising waves
that gloss the beachfront edge, whisper a song
of Emily. And distant sails become
a strand of angled shadows off the shore,
while sunset's colors— amber, gold and plum,
spill into pools of night. It's always then
that sand abrades my skin and winds imbue
their dampness in my hair. Like cockle halves
beneath my toes, I touch the rim of you.