Heal us we beg We walk the morning beach

city layers intact wet sand beneath our feet

inhale the salt air the warm breath of wind

Scour our brains remove old barnacles

launder our sorrows

burnish us bright as sun diamonds

Heal us we plead We float toes up face to the sky

lifted on your gentle waves enclosed

in your amniotic fluid ears stopped with water

sound retreats old voices stilled no up

no down safe in your caress cleansed of thought

a small dot on an infinite expanse

Heal us we beseech We rest on warm sand

watch blue crabs scuttle from sandpipers

a trinity of pelicans dive for minnows

an egret fishes far from his marsh home

children swoop chase a flock of laughing gulls

a tide of sand dollars washes ashore

followed by a thick blanket of starfish