the Cove

Flashes of images:

The tanned length of a girl's leg,
knee bent, fabric cut short.

A dying sky stained pink and orange,
an eye blinks, a head turns, she laughs--
and the sun is down.

Traipsing through blocks, down streets of mismatched houses;
the sound of wheels on broken black roads.

Darkness has fallen but heavy heat still remains.
Hands brush, clothes are shed, they urge her jump in;

As they look up at her with hair plastered to their head
and grins plastered to their faces,

She takes a breath, and she jumps, and she sees the world shudder,
and then the water envelops her and she breathes pure summer.