I thought I forgot how to move freely…
but I just had to look back again,
to the night
(almost thirty years ago now!)
when we jumped off the boardwalk
and felt warm sand
beneath our toes

running until we reached cool ocean spray
-the foam shined like diamonds in moonlight
reminding me
of a highway that led to freedom;
we were suburban rebels, with little cause,
(giggling girls parading as jaded women)

she was fragile and ethereal,
drawing the world in swirls
and she watched as I became
a gyrating gypsy in the surf,
dancing to my own song
(which echoed Creedence and Floyd)

it was unequivocal magic,
dancing at the ocean’s edge

I was sixteen
and didn’t know how rare those moments are
when we touch something
beyond our sense and understanding,
past where love ends
and questions begin
to a place of acceptance