A Walk on the Beach  

Jay Voss, June 20, 2023

The clouds cast a dark cover
As I navigate the boardwalk
Across the dunes
Of Sullivan’s Island.
It is our Tuesday walk,
But on this gloomy day
Only five Seniors show. 
I have come to love this beach.
It has a wildness about it
With dunes and vegetation
Separating the large homes
Just beyond.
There are turtle nests in the sand,
Suggestions of a march to the sea 
In the very near future.
Black birds hover
Near the nests
Waiting for the attack
And a feast to follow
And Nature’s way.
Driftwood inhabits the sand
Adding to the mystery 
Of the cloudy day. 
I walk a mile and then reverse,
The wind now at my back.
The gray waves rush in
As a container ship
Disappears on the horizon.
A lonely catamaran adds
To the starkness of the beach
It is a picture of dynamic change 
With a subtle stillness
Where life ebbs and flows
With each breaker
I relish these moments
In my later years