THE KISS BETWEEN FLOTSAM AND JETSAM Poem by Judith Herzberg

The kiss
on the beach
went in search
of a mouth
among cigarette butts
crusts of bread (wet)
the sticks
of lollies
and the skin
of a water-
melon.

But the kiss
found a caress
without hand
without cheek
a joke
with no ear
and a smell
with no nose
a hinge
with no door
ajar
with no window
plastic bottle
with no letter
with no tear.

A screech
of no gull
with no knowledge
of how long
such a beach-combing
kiss will survive
by the ebbing sea
on the frowning
sand.