Joyce Greenfield

Joyce Greenfield
 
WHAT TO DO AT THE BEACH
 

Nothing
 
Just sit on the sand
Dig your toes in
Dig deeper
Dig till your toes feel cold
 
Look up at the sky
Guess which clouds will float into nothingness
Which ones will keep their shape
 
Listen to seagulls crying
Note how their wings spread as they fly
 
Look out to sea
Follow a boat
Till it disappears below the horizon
 
If it’s early morning
And the sea is empty of swimmers
Go down to the edge of the beach
Where waves break on the sand
 
If you’re lucky
A pelican may alight on the water
And stare at you
 
Don’t say a word
Do your best to outstare him
 
When friends ask
What did you do at the beach
Say
Nothing
 
When friends ask
Did you meet anyone interesting
Look them straight in the eye and say
I met a pelican

 
Joyce Greenfield taught high school English for many years in New York City. She has now left teaching and is devoting her time to her first love–writing. The following publication have either published her work or plan to in the fall of 2013 : Yale Journal of Humanistic Medicine, Jewish Currents, Reflections, Fun for Kidz, Ladybug Magazine, Poetica, The Healing Muse.