I watched the sea retreat
As joyful rocks came out to breath
Feathers on stilts picked at the leaves
Blue and white shells underneath my feet

And a golden-rose fire
Broken to coins on the water
By the tide and the way she sways
She sways the way she sways my mind

And the cold-bitter salt water
Up to my hips as I stripped to my knicks
Plastic bag in my fist
Muscles tense, I lament
For the poison in the beauty

Our fingertips searched the beach
For smooth stones to skip troughs and peaks
It takes me back to the river weeks
I saved two or three for Daniel Lee

And a golden-rose fire
Broken to coins on the water
By the tide and the way she sways
She sways the way she sways my mind

And the cold-bitter salt water
Up to my hips as I stripped to my knicks
Plastic bag in my fist
Muscles tense, I lament
For the poison in the beauty