The Circle of Scattered Pieces

Anything Is Possible in California

I bought a tangerine to eat beside
the California ocean.  Rain and wind
had washed the people away.  The ebbing tide
grasped at the shore; its wrinkled fingers found
no purchase on the sand.  The surf was cream
on the coffee beach.  I used my toe to write
my name and town.  Seaweed erasers came;
their bobbing pods rubbed all the letters out.
I sat to peel and eat the tangerine.
Wavelets tickled my toes and made me laugh.
Above me I heard a wheeling gull complain
to God.  I threw the peeling at a cliff
of cloud, and kindled the west with scarlet fire.
Tomorrow morning I'll gild the dawn with a pear.

Next Poem:  "Rock Creek"
List of Poem Circles
Updated last on:  2001/05/24