Soaring
higher than the flock,
in formation
leading
a lone plover
dives
near head-on
into deserted
a steely coast guard beach

Silently surveying
ominous the roar
an unforgiving sea’s violent crash,
incessant the pounding spray:
tarnished silver undulations
breach the safety
of unsuspecting
hatchling nests

Lower
than my ankles
buried deep
beneath the silt-rich sludge
crisp, lifeless sea grass
revived
to its natural brown rubbery state
with the onrush of inundation

Cold
veiny-grey tides
deepen the shifting crevice:
ocean-river,
sandbars
carved by winter’s icy fury

Sealife
invisible to the eye
daring to rear
a kind and
curious canine countenence
beyond the breaking
watery surface
seeking playmates,
a game of fetch perhaps?

Blood-curdling silence,
screeching for succor
in barely
an audible contrabass gulping pitch
unable to relay his plight
to deaf, or worse,
apparently indifferent
shore-bound
human friends

Underneath,
diamond-sharp
dents de la mer
nip
at soft, gentle
foot-like flippers
convulsing
in jagged crimson jets:
the ruby tide beckons
swarming
lifeless orbs
dark as pitch
to the bloody feast