Alan Reese, "Along the Coast"

Alan Reese, poet and owner of Abcedarian Books, offers this poem he authored in memory of Barbara Michel Simon.

Along the Coast

A chunk of coastline breaks off
and slides into the sea,
disappears into the waves
which shudder in their rhythm
interrupted by this sudden receiving.

Sea birds circle the spot,
searching for the phantom cliff,
home to their memory.
They seek the place where
they once touched down,

the warmth of the sand
welcoming them home,
the protective comfort of high grass,
the spot where they nested
and raised their young,

the point from where they took
wing into the world,
and in that blue expanse
between sky and beach
the empty air rings with their cries.