sun-drenched heron
the cold stare of seals
crows wrestling crabs
eagles shaking icicles
agates crystalline
jasper like eyes of squid
endless beach jumping
skies magnificent kite world
driftwood perfect cairns
kids trapped up the hill
death glow of fluorescent
throbbing Chrome books
Gestapo-eyed principals
checking six-foot lines
hunting down polyethylene
masks mid-mouth
janitors like Hannibal
disinfectants their pistols
a few dogs
middle-aged couples
the lone crabber dug in
no skiffs or outboards
smoking up air, just opening sky
winds like puffs of angel
breath, clouds painting
lizards and horses
sand unexplored
I am espying opulence
pebbles and antelope skin
shells, wrack lines
like tree rings
sea grass uprooted
bulbous kelp like
whips of chariots
tide slack, river pure
diving loons, cormorants
occasional sea dollar whole
water of saline, of wetlands
mixing sky waves crashing
tumbling surf, foam pure
racing slick along receding
water scrolled sands
so much lost
children trapped
inside attics of algorithms
so many old timers
telling me they are
skeptics, no way Jose
children on the beach
no chance of school
letting the turnkeys
unlock warehouses
no way children
can run ocean sands
no way all those
puttering teachers
would want liability
no more unloading
moldy children
into nature
no confidence
child will stay child
they watch TikTok
hold audience with
YouTube, dream of
Marvel magic, now
the glory is digital
ginned-up fear
forever chemicals
touched daily
masks and sprays
boosters mandated
the children of
a lesser god
children sacrificed
for billions
field trips ancient memory
no children running
gauntlets of driftwood
no gigantic sand castles
no embers, no marshmallows
no more séances with
curling salmon steaks
nothing to learn
inside screeds from
silicon diode capacitor
clouds emasculating
nature, draining female
bodies in tides
amazing seeds washed ashore
phallic barnacles
retreat inside womb
too too too much
for our child
no field trips barefoot
not a chance now
lined up for hypodermic
madness as adults
24/7 tickertape
wave after wave of flu
influenza viral vapidity
prepping for shooter
on campus lockdown
end of childhood
end of nature
end of crossroads
end of gathering
end of mud throwing
end of hand clasping
end of pyramid making
schools are jails
childhood locked out
the lockdown almost
complete no field
trips, nothing to touch
or shout about
childhood reset
turned to metallic
drones cradle to grave
now cradle to coffin
by the time
they mask up
for kindergarten
