Joseph Farley

Hi, I edit Axe Factory.My latest book is Suckers.
Dream Castles, a collection done with Marie Kazalia is
due out from Red Hand Press in 2006. I was named poet
of the year by Muses Review for 2004. Hope you like
this poem.

Joseph Farley


Sunny Isles Beach, Florida

The sea changes
from green to blue
the blue-black
the further out
you go from shore.

The sun remains the same
warm and friendly
as long as
you don't stay out in it
too long
and remember
your sun screen.

Boats move off shore,
shadows gray on gray
nailed to the blue line
of the horizon.
At night they twinkle
with many lights,
floating cities
that distract the eye
from the city
on land.

The sand is warm,
so is the water.
To walk along the beach
alone
is to forget
the world as it is
and to remember
yourself,
the person you left behind
so long ago
when life began
to spiral and grow
beyond what
you could measure
or control.

The condo boom
doesn't distract
from finding coral
or watching a coconut
bob in the surf
before being taken back
by the ocean
for another trip
to another landing.

Your stay isn't long,
only the length
of a conference,
not enough for you
to become disenchanted.
This is good.
You can leave
with memories
and photos,
no disappointments.

That will leave you
with something else to learn
should you ever return
to this land
of condos and hotels,
hopefully not
during hurricane season.