As I sit here
body naked
warmed flesh
absorbing the day
A peace around me
is created
by the flat Florida land
the white time crusted sand
the gentle flight
of many ospreys
I've come to this place
searching for a space
to be alone
Walking across the shallow sand
stingray and horseshoe crabs
scurrying the ground
a Great Blue Heron's track leading
to an opening in the distant mangroves
I've always known the way
but the fear
of distance
kept me away until this day
Silver waters of the bay
moving out to sea
inside I know
the tide will really wait
for me to cross
this connected piece of land to nowhere
and return safely in the end
Walking under the Australian pine trees
feeling the ever present seabreeze
gazing at the blue sky
without modern obstructions
Walking for miles and miles
backpack weighted down
bikini clad skin exposed
sneakers following no road
All alone
The habitat isn't pure
I cried with dismay
soapsuds line the wetlands
from condos along the far off highway
motorboats echo across the harbor
oil slicks marring the water
airplanes roar above
bringing more people, more, more, more
I relieve myself on a surveyors stake
Then, I am beyond these things
the anger at what has been lost
among all
but what time forgot
I am alone
Decisions made
walk until the tide returns
sandy footprints
hurricane blown land
fragments of fossils
and 10,000 year old bones
welcoming me home
welk conch protruding
dusted off on my thigh
a drinking cup emerges
ancient peoples roamed here
And I feel myself among them
Skin stripped bare
laying flat in the sand
letting every inch of my skin
reflect the sky
There is no shame in my undressed state
no thoughts about mirrors or morals
or societal expectations
prude bound convictions
just me, my body naked
for me to see
My body is beautiful
bronzed by nature
scarred by time
a shell of my soul
the projection of what I know
a salty silver water drop
licking at the sand
Within my own
I found my home
alone
and the tide waited for me to return
