Girl, Lindsey, By The Sea Poem by Frank Bana

The little girl in floral bathing wear
stretched out her arms and laughed and tried
to influence the heedless tide
that tugged at her delicate ankles and toes

The English boys played soccer on the sand
Grandma gazed from a canvas chair
Two men, of Indian origin
stood waist-deep in the bobbing waves,

arms extended, as if to dispense
grains of rice upon the surf
the droplets in their bushy beards
flecked by mirrors of distant worlds.

Perhaps they harbour precious shreds
of ancient Sutras in their paunches
in the circling of hands above the water
unnoticed by the sporting hordes,

by the little girl scooping up shells
eager to invite her classmates' smiles
when she presents them, scrubbed and shined
in a pink box at her American school.