To sleep or not to sleep, that is the question.* Sometimes you just have to rise in the dark, stuff your feet into socks and boots and take a long walk on the beach. Sleep’s out of the question now.  Nobody can see your messy hair, it’s under a hat for heaven’s sake.

I walked west towards the bridge, but the traffic noise makes me wrinkle my nose.  I turned and walked east and saw that look. You know the one. The sky is opening one eyelid, so very slowly. Her lids are indigo, navy, cobalt. She does not appreciate the orange streetlight’s glare. One side of her face is soft pink, then hot glowing magenta, but the colors cool quickly and pale yellow dawns. I’m not looking for a sunrise just now. I turn and walk into the sandbar to watch the shallow waters crisscross converge. The sand “melts” under my heels and if I were a kid I would holler to my friends, “Help! Quicksand!” And we would run away laughing because we got away just in time.

What am I looking for in this low tide place?  Mermaids. A shark fin. A bird no one sees in daylight.  Behind me a flock of plovers roll by like cotton balls in a breeze.  I am tempted to sit down in the cold water but then I hear the yip yap of two mop dogs. The spell is broken.

 

*apologies to Wild Bill Shakespeare