#redderthanred

“For Silly Pants”

The ink clings to the earth

as I brush away the grit and grime from crumpled-up

loose-leaf paper buried beneath my naked feet.

I arrive at this place through some forgotten memory

that coerced me into my shit-stained Chevy, down “45”,

until my toes felt content in the vice-like grip of sand;

pulling me in like the embrace

of lost lovers found.

Familiarity-

Burberry and mint flavored chewing gum,

cheap whiskey in a plastic cup…

a concoction mixed into the breeze,

pulling me out to sea.

Archaic metal grips drift wood to post, warning:

“Montauk Pier

Caution:

No Lifeguard Present”

Cold air from the ocean pushes against

the sign, forcing a cry of metal-on-metal

that shifts me back onto my heels—

I recall mortality.

I search the page for something more-

descriptive, explanatory, meaningful.

But all that remains is an old piece of paper:

my name,

your handwriting,

and a nostalgiac scent binding

the two to some place

my mind will not