The Escape

At high noon

a little mustard mouth boy

threw bread crumbs to squawking seagulls.

His sister was intent on

digging in the white sand to China

with an orange plastic bucket.

Looking out over the gulf

as three pelicans were gliding

barely over the water,

Mommy and Daddy were anchored

to a motley blanket

when the wind caught

a neglected beach ball.

The spinning colors of

red, yellow, white, and blue

sent the little girl crying,

the mother chasing, and

the father laughing.

Dropping his half-eaten hot dog,

the little boy ran after his mother

who was kicking up sand

in pursuit of the beach ball.

A slew of seagulls quickly descended

upon the abandoned meal in the sand.

Fooled by the wind,

the colorful ball hopped, skipped, scooted,

and spun across the blistering sand,

as if never coming back.

Bug-eyed sunglasses

sat up from soaking in the sun

as the posse of feet went

through their terry cloth town

in full gallop.

Finally, the runaway rolled 

too close to the water's edge

when a wave rushed up to meet it,

ending the chase.

Even before the capture

the little girl grew tired

of the chase and China

and began building

a castle with Daddy.

Mommy took the air out of the ball

as the little boy and the gulls

complained of being hungry.

Slowly the sun was being

pressed on the horizon

while a sand castle

eroded away with the tide.

The passage to China was

flooded with salt water.

As the family walked along the shore,

the sun-splashed beautiful hues

upon a canvas of puffy clouds.

A lone and silent seagull stood near

to where a deflated beach ball

laid cramped

in an orange bucket.