Beach Party Poem by Robert J Meyer

It’s been fun, exhausting.
The mellow bunch singing lazily around the bonfire –
Sparks spinning upward, reflected in the lake.
They begin to move toward tents and sleeping bags,
But their boom boxes still send thumping rhythms over the water,
Bass reverberating off the soft susurrations of the waves.

Wood smoke, charred brats, stale beer and bubbling marshmallows thicken the air –
Overstuffed and lazy, fighting the urge to sweep off into sleep
Only to awaken past twilight – sunburned by the fading sun –
You stand.

Now, you want no company.
Surveying the lace of waves tracing their way across the water,
You amble away from the crumbling remains of the party,
Taking in the pink, amber, violet sundown,
You turn to watch the shimmering mirage of your friends
Shorten and fade with the light.
With each step, the pulsing of the music subsumes
Slowly extinguished by the interplay of waves and wind.

Your damp swimsuit slowly drying beneath your cutoffs and T
Raises the gooseflesh across your skin as the air cools.
Invigorated, your toes send up a rooster tail of sand
Picked up by the breeze and twisted away.

For a moment, fear flashes through you,
You turn, and trudge back to camp.