Poem 2: Shoreline

Bending down towards the sand
A child reached gently
Touching the grit and grain
The last remains
Of rock and glass
Of shell and bone
Made uniform by the tide
And I stand next to that child
On the shore washed even
Looking back over the dunes
There I see our tracks
Twin pairs of steps
Equal in size and depth
As though time had gone
Erased by the sea
The child saw none of this
He looked only down
Rustling the wet sand
Under the rushing wave
Causing flurries of clams
And eddies about his legs
I thought on this
And smiled at the mirror
For we will always be there
That child and me
While there is still sand
And aquatic butterflies
We’ll walk apace
And stop upon the line
Even if it isn’t us
Held in the grains of time

Oddly, this was written after reading a friend's signature on a message forum