ESTUARINE

ESTUARINE

High overhead the gulls laughed

at those who didn't have wings.

The ones without wings looked

at their feet, and the sand underneath.

Waves lapped and washed tirelessly

working at their beach building labor.

While the wingless ones built castles

out of the fruits of the waves labor.

A river emptied it's contents into

the ocean, completing it's own work.

Crabs walked sideways indifferently

with claws upheld instead of wings.

Mullet jumped to get a look at the

wingless ones that built the castles.

Dunes rise and fall over the years

because the wind won't rest either.

Shells hide in the sand and wait

for the wingless castle builders.

They use them for decoration since

the original inhabitants have left.

Seaweed washes up around the feet

of the wingless ones and tickles them.

Jellyfish float listlessly along pulling

behind their strings of stinging tails.

The wingless ones try to pretend they

have fins sometimes and swim like fish.

But they always go back and lay under

funny, round and brightly colored trees.

Wingless castle builders eat from colored

boxes full of hard water and clear leaves.

They make loud noises when the small

builders are learning to build castles.

Many times, they leave some of the

things from the colored boxes behind.

The sand has to cover them up so that

they might find them later, or not.

The castle builders didn't use to be

here like the rest of us have been.

They are new, but they somehow think

they know all about the beach and estuary.

The small flies and spider crabs don't

seem to care or notice them at all.

Their castles always wash away, but

for some reason they build more.

Starting their labor which isn't much

labor compared to the river and sea.

Not compared to the wind or waves

and tides and rain and the sun of course.

And their castles aren't as nice as the

ones we build now are they gulls?

High overhead the gulls laughed

at those who didn't have wings.

MST