Gifts to Bring Back from the Seashore                   

Footprints
From bare feet walking in wet sand,
I would bring to you.
How simply they say,
Now.

Friendship
With trust that we hold
For a moment, each other’s heart,
Carefully, gently,
As we share.

Joy
Of play,
Children creating castles,
Digging holes the surf will soon fill,
The sea will wash away.

Endings and beginnings,
I bring to you
Families leave, grow up,
Return with children.
The sea will again whisper  ola hello welcome

I bring to you footsteps mine, yours,
Left in wet sand,
Part of eternity.

I bring to you
Sunsets spilling roses and bird songs
As surf curls, claps, thunders in our ears.

I bring to you
Wonder.
Let it refresh you,
Invite you to plunge
Into your work, your play, like pelicans.
Watch them dive from sky to sea,
Soar upward again,
Fearless.
Walk with me barefoot across wet sand,
Knowing the brevity of now.

— Nancy Bo Flood, from Chacala, Mexico