the water tastes like stone and turns our skin softly crystalline when we sweat

a Spring
walk
in the late
morning.

ocean
all around
me.

from one
island,
across
a bridge,
to another.

a friend
drives by
in his truck.
we both
wave.
i have known
him
for many years,
we rarely see
each other
anymore.

a woman
pushing
a stroller,
a dog
leashed
to it,
takes a
path
i was hoping
for.

i walk on
behind her,
hesitate,
and pivot
back
the way
i came.

i did not
want
the discomfort
of trailing
her,
speeding up
to
overtake,
the awkward
few moments
where we walk
astride.

the change
in direction
matters
not.

every path
contains
beauty.