The Beach Umbrella
This Poem
And many others appear in the poetry poetry collection, Digging to China, published by Sweatshoppe Publications in 2013.
An old man sits
on the beach under
an umbrella.
It’s alternating red
which has faded to orange
and yellow
which has faded to whatever
color it is that
yellow fades to.
It’s silver handle,
Stabbed into the grey sand, reflects
the sun and the old man squints.
On a portable folding chair
he stretches long
sun worn legs
and digs them into
the warm sand.
He licks his lips
tasting the salty air and
bites into roast beef
on rye.
Surrounded by seagulls,
he feeds them
breadcrumbs.
He smiles as he inhales
the ocean breeze.
The seaweed.
The birds.
The sun and the wind batter
his damaged skin as he
begins to drift
off to sleep
so he can be with her
again.