by Kimberly Sanders
Your sun-kissed cottages and our shell-nibbled toes
The fishermen’s stillness and the waves’ constant motion
The tall beach grasses and the small no see-ums
The warm sea water and the cold cocktail drinks
Forks of fresh grouper in the glimmering sunset
Spoons of key lime pie in the tossed bedsheets
The sun so steadfastly brightening our days
The lighthouse so rhythmically illuminating our nights
Boats and bikes and beer breath kisses
Hats and hurricanes and desperate hugs
The flowers may be sparse and the trees brown and brittle
But the footprints of how you have loved us continue to be fresh