Beach Pails

Turn around and see the child immersed in dragons and castles city scapes and high rises coming to life as their hand sculpts through cold ocean sand toes squishing the tide pools The sun creating diamond crystals on their face as sweat cries down Waves rolling through the body in rythym with their heart singing the cry of the seagulls whispering your name

For this is you, innocent and unstained You reach for the orange beach pail alive on fire you fill it with sand flip it over and a new building stands as you finger windows and doors on its surface

You feel a tide lap your small heel the first call to leave your fabled city for the ocean will swallow your dream time and in your childhood haste the orange pail is forgotten holding one last tower of sand like a doomsday message in a bottle. 

Turn around and see the picture splayed on your Facebook feed a sea tortoise gutted and cracked open like a confused piñata filled with plastic refuse an orange piece catches your eye Smashing your sand castles into a dust storm with no where to go

You slam a door on the mental image only to find angry school climate strikers pounding it down Demanding you take action

Turn around again now dizzy see the lies told your holy innocence so betrayed

For garbage was simply taken to a safe place called Away