Beach Girl

Beach Girl
© Surazeus
2018 02 16

Awake in the gloom of the windy cave,
the beach girl reaches out her shadow hand
till she touches wet stone, slimy with moss.
Curling around beat of her heart, she stands
and gropes along cave wall to shining light.
Stepping forth into the featureless glare,
the beach girl pauses in the gleaming air
till the vastness of the gold shining sand
resolves from the rays of the rising sun
that floats scarlet on the calm silver sea.

Stepping forward in cold blustering wind
that roars from the sparkling swirl of blue waves,
the beach girl lopes toward the large round gray stone
that stands alone on the broad beach of sand.
Gripping the solid stone with both her hands,
the beach girl crouches against warm sand,
then crawls into the swirl of ocean waves
to submerge under its shimmering blue light,
till she stands upright in the surging tide,
buoyed by the air she breathes in her heart.
Breathing deep the wind blowing in her face,
the beach girl swirls her arms and legs in circles,
and leaps sideways to follow the beach edge,
pulling herself forward with stroking arms.

Gazing downward into the clear blue water,
where waves of sunlight flicker back and forth
in long flashing curves of thick wriggling lines,
the beach girl watches fish swim near her legs,
then, when she sees the largest silver fish,
she dives down and snatches it with boh hands.
Clutching the fish, that wriggles to escape,
the beach girl leaps through waves back to the sand,
and stays upright as she walks to her stone.

Smacking the fish against the large gray stone,
she crouches in the shadow of its bulk
and tears at succulent flesh with her teeth,
chewing and swallowing juicy white globs,
then licks her hands as she devours it all.
Tossing fish bones aside on sparkling sand,
the beach girl climbs up on the large gray stone
and stands tall in the cool blustering wind,
then spreads arms outward to balance her stance.

When strange ache of joy surges from her heart
the beach girl hoots and hums sweet melody
to harmonize the fierce buzz in her breast
with the wild tune of the blustering wind.
Dancing up and down while flapping her arms,
the beach girl, balanced on large gray safe stone,
shrieks as she cries out the joy of her heart
in concert with the flock of swift-flying birds
that swoop on flapping wings along the beach.

Exhausted from expressing song of joy,
the beach girl crouches on her large safe stone,
and watches creatures moving on the sand,
turtles crawling slowly, crabs lurching sideways,
sandpipers skittering past in small flocks,
and starfish glistening orange like the sun.
Rounding her mouth and clacking tongue on teeth,
she gives each creature she sees action name,
and motions her fingers in various shapes
to mimic how each creature moves on sand.

The beach girl crouches on the large round stone
that stands alone on bright sand at low tide,
and watches sunlight gleam on grains of sand.
Wind swirls her long black hair around her face,
so she twists loose strands tight in bundled braid,
then wraps ivy vine to keep her hair bound.
She gazes at white clouds that swell in the sky
and feels the whole world of mountain and sea
shimmer within the flicker of her eye.

The beach girl gazes at shape of her hand,
flexing four fingers and thumb in loose fist,
then opens them out, splayed like gold starfish,
and caresses the soft curves of her palm.
Leaping from the stone, she lopes along beach,
fists and feet in rhythm splattering gold sand,
then crouches by the pile of yellow driftwood,
and slowly reaches out her hand to grasp
the long curving stick, opening her fingers
to curl them tightly around its smooth shaft.

Grasping the stick tight, she raises it high
toward the sky, and swings down to hit the sand,
watching how its sharp point carves curving lines,
then swings it upward, trying to hit the cloud,
but wonders that it floats beyond her reach.
Skipping along the beach back toward safe stone,
she smacks the sand with the stick to carve lines
at equal intervals while loudly yawping,
then leaps on the gray stone and crouches down.

Ocean waves roar as they slide over sand,
white foam flashing in the yellow sunlight,
like they do every day when the sun glows.
Things move but they always move the same way,
and the waves always roll over the sand,
and the wind always blows around her face,
and the sun always rises in the sky,
and the fish always swim in the waves,
so she smiles and stretches her arms out wide
like she does every day on her safe stone.

At the sound of rocks crashing to the beach,
she looks behind her at the high steep cliff,
and pictures wild waves grinding rocks to sand,
but when she imagines the entire cliff
crashing down in great roar of broken rocks
she shrieks and covers her eyes in surprise.
Trembling, she waits to feel rocks crush her head,
but nothing strikes as steady wind blows,
so she opens her eyes, moving her hands,
and sees the cliff still stands against the sky.

Sliding off safe stone, she crawls toward the cliff,
and pushes her hand, five fingers splayed wide,
against its enormous solidity.
Looking to her left along the flat cliff,
she notes the narrow ledge sloping upward
to its top ridge, solid in empty sky,
so she slides slow along sloping ledge,
face and breast pressed against the solid cliff.
When her foot knocks a small rock off the ledge
she watches it tumble down to the beach,
and for long moment feels the whole world spin
upside down till she hangs over the sun,
so she closes her eyes and grips the cliff
while ocean waves crash with her beating heart.

Breathing deep the wind to fill her with hope,
the beach girl hugging the crumbling cliff tight
opens her eyes to peer at the bright light,
and notes the top edge of the solid cliff
looms just beyond the reach of her small hand,
so she slides farther up along the ledge
and pulls herself up onto the flat ground.
Lying on her back, she stares at the vast sky
that opens wide around entire horizon
so the huge cliff and the vast flowing sea
all vanish into the emptiness of blue.

Rolling over on her belly, face close
to the solid ground that supports her body,
she sucks in air to fill herself with light,
then pushes herself up onto her knees,
and gasps when she sees the wide plain of grass
which stretches farther than the longest beach
and bulges upward into giant hills,
many times larger than her safe beach stone.
Slowly standing upright on trembling legs,
the beach girl spreads both arms out to the sky,
and opens both hands to grasp the warm light
and glory in the feeling of vast space.

She breathes the eerie quiet of soft grass,
startled that no wind blusters at her face.
Twirling around three times on trembling feet,
the beach girl surveys the broad plain of grass
that stretches outward on the upper world.
Now that she has reached the world of the sky,
she wonders what the lower world looks like.

Turning around backward on careful steps,
the beach girl peers over the steep cliff edge,
and stares shocked to see that her wide gold beach
now appears so small, narrow strip of land
between the endless stretch of shining sea
and the broad expanse of high rolling hills,
divided by the steep abrupt cliff edge
that winds both directions into gold haze.

Searching the shining beach with desperate eyes
to see her large gray safe stone in the sand,
she gasps surprised when she finds it at last,
so small and barely visible in mist
that rises from the stillness of the sea.
Picking up the small pebble at her feet,
she holds it up between finger and thumb
so it covers the shape of her safe stone.
High on the upper world of grassy hills
she gazes at the whole world she has known
since she first remembers crawling gold sand,
and feels sad that her lower world is small,
but then gazes at the high mountain peak
and feels joy that the upper world is huge.

Stretching both arms to the glowing blue sky
where the yellow sun glides toward mountain peaks,
which normally disappears behind high cliff,
the beach girl breathes the fresh flower-scented air
and follows the sun toward the strange new world.