For James



An unmasked day, the cloudbank skips

          across the morning;

gulls weigh and wheel.
The waves pump, rhythmic roll,

          beyond spilling shoals.

Your first day with a body board.
A time to learn; we stir

          through shallows,

through the channel rush.
Immutable moon heeds the trackless

          tideways; synopsis of sapphires.

Flathead dither in sprawling fathoms.
The breeze builds on willing water.

          We push out towards the break.

You cling to the buoyant cork
as you have been taught; I help

          you position for the next set.

An elemental drive, a surge
swells and vaults. Instruction:

          Paddle like mad, go boy go.

With my thrust you are flung
with force, you are fused

          with the seam of the sea.

You will take a turn to teach your daughter 
about the depths and dangers.

          In my imagination a synthesis

of spray as you tack across the tide.