IMG_6785_2At the beach tonight

an infinitesimal spark of girl,

miniature human,

all in pink,

with a tiny necklace

made of shells.

She spins along the tide line

past her mother and brother and dog

and reaches for the perfect white feather

I am carrying home

for my collection.

I hand it over to her

without hesitation.

She touches it to the top

of my small dog’s head

as if we were waiting for just this thing-

some small fairy of a girl to come along

and change the feather into wand,

a magic wand to anoint us with

on this twilight beach.

Off she twirls

feather wand aloft

back to the tide line wrack

and sigh of curling tide,

the sky over us all amethyst and pearl.

Who knows how else blessings come?

© 2013, Janice Riley. All rights reserved.