I needed to think
I started to walk
away, away, I was thinking

Almost inevitably,
I found my way to the beach.

Walking just below the cliff
alone except for an occasional wave fisher
I watched the wind whip the tops of the waves

It stunned me
the perfectly white froth on the deep green waves
the little droplets flying into the air

I walked on
so totally absorbed
it was only when the waves changed
that I noticed the sunbathers

Families, mostly
little girls shrieking in the flattened waves
littler ones building castles with perfect moats
the wind just strong enough
to blow the hair from my face

I kept walking
towards the beautiful people
tan teenagers playing volleyball
on the now broad beach
the wind paused with me
only to spin the ball once in a while

then I came to the rocks
climbed them,
climbed the hill
stood on the cliff overlooking the surfers

they seemed one with the water
and the wind
catching perfect tubes
standing up and riding twenty yards to the shore

I stood and saw them all
the surfers, the beautiful people,
the families,
the fisher
all alone

it stunned me
with perfection

the wind blew me gently
down the hill
with a little push towards home

And I smiled.