Innocence

I see you standing there

Silent in the fury of foaming waters

Gazing out at the hues of pink

Melting into a ribbon of blue.

Not many come this way

As you do;

Stepping lightly onto grains of history

Submerged in the rushing tides.

Seasons don't seem to hinder

Your barefoot negligence

But life birthed among the sands

Halts even your elfin tread.

I watch as you find your perch

On my first cousin,

Grey and cold; so unlike

Your rose-blushed youth.

Your gaze, verdant as the seas

In the shallows; widens

As you stand under the open heavens

Laden with clouds and stars alike.

I wish I was more weathered

Or less; So undiscriminating gravity

Could pull me ahead and on

To join you in your serious play.

Instead, here I remain

Observant as the ages

While you bathe the sea-kissed shifting sands

In the blessing of your sparkling laughter.