ELEGY Poem: Ocean, by Nancy Kassell

You loved water— ocean, beach
your body warmed by the sun
sand yielded to your footsteps
cleansing salt air and against the turmoil
of living the steady beat of breaking waves

The beauty of just being

Lying stretched out on your towel
you could at leisure explore the universe of the sky
clouds object lessons in change
watch a small boy filling his pail with sand
one shovelful at a time
you applied sunscreen
you took care not to get sand in your book

The ocean asks nothing of us
releases us from whatever is binding

Against the horizon you can sketch a future
or more than one—erase try again
with a different design or coordinates

No longer possible for you

Once I nurtured you in my body with water
Now all I can give you are tears though
we are still bonded. Just not in life.

Lise Zumwalt
1956-2023