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