Sneaker prints of my companion
Vanished as she did,
Suddenly, amid dunes and masses
Of waves and sea grasses
Fronting the windswept shore.
She had been scanning a book,
While I set out to explore;
Then turned to look
At our picnic space
And at first was annoyed
At the shoreline devoid
Of her figure and face,
And head of curls
So familiar, unfurled
And beguilingly bright
In the post-noon sunlight.
With her voice gone silent
It seemed lonely and quiet
On the desolate beach,
Save for the moan
Of the wind and surf
And the seagulls' screech.
But the story ended well.
I tracked her through knolls
And dell roundabouts
By enacting a role
As an Indian scout:
Head down, eyes wary
For telltale dimpled soles
The only clue; hot on the trail
Of my feminine quarry.
Relieved to be hailed
By the missing wench
From a tree-shaded bench.