Sunshine Poem by Paul Reed

I ambled back next to green leaves
Which the breeze could barely reach
Calmness flooded through my mind
I had spent a day on the beach

I had stood at the waters edge
Blue horizon stretched out in front
The steep cliffs for once at rest
With no tidal edge to blunt

Toddlers standing ankle-deep
Fathers with trousers rolled to the knee
Three girls tumbling and crashing about
Splashing the benign face of the sea

Joyous shouts and shrieks
Sand castles built and washed away
Lazy waves had reached the shore
The gift of this sunny day

For all of the winter’s ravages
That had bared tree and left souls dark
We now had nature’s sweet recompense
Happy children’s cries and dog bark

For this was a celebratory day
To sweep away the short days with nights black
We have the beginning of summer
We have the sunshine back