I reach the beach
where Grandma played as a girl,
I imagine her discovering agates,
pocketing each tiny miracle.
Walking the boardwalk,
my shoes pinch, out of place.
Will glass cut me?
Is there too much trash?
Kneeling, I unlace,
shedding this petty armor.
Skin to sand, I know
she's here.
And there—an agate!
Small, luminous, imperfect.
I know she’s here—
in the stone,
in the breeze,
in the rhythm of the tide.
I walk down to the water and cry.
I walk up the beach and sing.