My Grandmother's Cottage

Steps back to my childhood…

Steady as she goes, arms stretched,

tight lines on a sandy boardwalk,

like a musical keyboard

Do Re Mi.

Sand curls under toes, seagrass bristles. 

I hop over- one, two, three

to my grandmother’s cottage.

*

I count steps back to my childhood.

Past the Sullivan’s cottage.

Green and white striped awnings at attention.

*

Sea shells line my path,

a pathway to the stars.

She waits for me, periwinkle blue eyes, 

white starfish clipped to her ears.

*

Hello she says, her arms wide with the sun.

We walk together.

The sea whispers in my ear.

I turn, foam laps the shore like a menacing smile.

A trickster, it calls to me…

I say No, you don’t play nicely

*

In and out of consciousness.

The memory still stings.

You swallowed me whole. 

Go away Sea, I will not come to your shore. 

*

She calls me back.

A tug, I turn to a warm smile.

My hand nestled in hers,

large and fine, her hair, 

the color of driftwood.

*

We enter into happiness.

Screen door slaps behind us.

The scent of sea breezes, 

notes of cedar and ocean mist,

the scent of my grandmothers cottage. 

*

In the kitchen.

Shifting sand underfoot.

The old white General Electric refrigerator

hums soft as bees in a garden.

Fresh icy lemonade.

Something delicious bakes.

My love.

*

Years later,

I run into the sea.

The trickster is gone.

Fear no more, I won.

*

She has passed, a glint in a starry sky.

They say I look just like her.

In my dreams,

memories fade.

My grandmother’s cottage.

Further back, to my grandmother’s cottage. Long Beach, Gloucester, Massachusetts