"tonight the beach is calm" by Lulu Pettit

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

they say the beach at night is calm,

and quiet. 

it's not, always, but tonight it is. 

it's calm, even as the children 

play in tide pools by the water, even as

birds fly above, waiting 

for the kids to drop something to eat. 

it's quiet, even as the waves 

crash enough to scare me, even as

you talk about the stars, which 

we know nothing of. 

it's calm, even as the water 

fizzes more than your champagne, even as

the scattered strangers amble 

along the sand behind us. 

it's quiet, even as my mind 

asks the questions we can't answer, even as

fireworks go off somewhere downshore,

a whole month too late. 

they say the beach at night is calm,

and quiet. 

it's not, always, but tonight it is.

Lulu Pettit lives in Philadelphia, PA. She is 16 years old. Lulu spends her days planning her next NaNoWriMo, watching an absurd amount of rom-coms, and roller skating in her friendly neighborhood graveyard.