Hide and Seek

"Hide and Seek"


I lie here
Surrounded by the thrum of summer
The yellow waves of a vast sea sway around me
Grass taller than my imagination
I can smell the earth
It is mingled with soil and fading wildflowers

I pray the birds do not give me away
I am ever so still
Holding my breath

The distance shares the laughter of my sister
As it dances closer amongst the sound of the nearby creek

The crack and thump of her footfalls flutter my stomach
Teasing me
Telling me to rise
To run
But the haze of comfort
Weighs heavy on me

As my clouded mind thickens with the warm sun in my eyes
I hear her murmur
Just before sleep takes me
“Come out Come out, Wherever you are.”


                                                                                              Robert Lloyd

Santa Monica

"Santa Monica"

As the morning fog slowly lifted They rose from their slumber

Slowly crawling atop the earth to the edge

They fought against the sand and extinction as it sucked their soft feet into it's depths

Eventually they overcame the thick travel and found themselves tiptoeing at the waters touch Smiling, most knew they taunted wondering eyes

Never intending more than an ankle deep dip

They lowered their towels onto the sand as if a prepping a curtain on a stage

When one vanished into the call of beyond the beach and the real world

Another or twelve easily replaced them

Wave upon wave of beauty slapped at the sand with well oiled and sometimes overlooked skin

They lay there Roasting, Tantalizing and perfect

Occasionally turning as if they were on an invisible spit

First they arrived staggered in time Solitary and bronzed

A determined blonde here and yawning brunette there

Soon they flocked like a mass of seagulls begging for the kiss of the pacific waters and the baking sun 

And all the while I remained a willing witness enjoying this ritual offering of Santa Monica

Robert Lloyd