Seated on the sand in the shade
of sea grapes I wonder how long
it will be before the boy knows
this beach will soon disappear
He sprints to the ocean ahead
of his young father and mother
to challenge the first curling wave
The shining veneer of the sea seems
endless even now as its bottoms
are cluttered with trash and sludge,
its waters rising with artic melt;
even as another bird species on the island
for millions of years has become extinct;
even as the space inside the atmosphere
has been sullied and reduced
As he grows, I wonder if he will find his way
into forests to swim the air from their leaves,
to hear the orchestra of their creatures, to inhale
the bouquet given off by their mix of colors
He bobs in the shallows unaware he may be
the last of the last or the first of the first
Today, he splashes as free as a fish
leaping to the surface towards the sky