Paradise Found

Your hand in mine,
we follow the shore,
treading on sand
unblemished before;
finding a starfish,
avoiding a crab,
writing our names –
toes in the sand.

Wind rustles past,
ruffles your hair,
hurrying nowhere
from this place to there.
Winding the string
of a blue paper kite
seduced by the wind,
watching it fly.

Letting it loose,
it does what it pleases,
courted by whispers
of soft summer breezes.
Pick up a pebble
to skim on the waves;
it bounces three times,
“That’s magic!” you say.

Finding a shell
hold it close to your ear;
I smile as you tell me
what you can hear.
Suddenly notice
how dark it has got
so we pick up our bags –
race to the top ...

little stone steps
leading up from the sea,
ask for directions to our B & B.
Your hand in mine,
we open the door
both of us nervous –
not been here before.

We don’t turn the light on,
the moon’s silver glow
shows us enough
of what we need to know.
A bed and a table,
a lamp and a chair;
not much of a room ...
except heaven is there.

A dappled dawn wakes me,
a seagull as well,
from the table beside me
I reach for the shell.
The one from the beach
that you’d given to me;
hold it close to my ear,
hear the sound of the sea.