Beach Games

She giggled

each time the water would

rush over her sand castle

and she would rush down the beach

with her shovel

trying to catch the sand that was

swept away

 

At low tide

she dug a moat and

used a bucket to fill the lines

with water

 

At the next high tide I asked her,

Ella, your castle's being destroyed

Why did you laugh?

Because the water doesn't care

about my shape

and it chooses a better shape

for my castle

 

I eyed the round mound of

sand

it looks like a hill, I said

come closer, and it looks like a

brain, she answered back

And it was true

the water drew lines over the sand

and turned them into roads,

highways of water

This is better?  I asked

Of course! It doesn't

have patterns anymore!

The ocean washes them away

I looked at it.

Then I kicked it.

How about now? I asked.

Ella said watch

the waves came across and

smoothed it over

bringing back the sand's brain.

You can't change the ocean's mind

she said.