Memorial Day Weekend

He is scrutinizing the shoreline,

with his eyes dividing their time

between the foamy whitecaps

and the cyan aerial.

Safe in the shade of the awning,

he is secure in it all.

Through rectangular sunglasses,

a mother watches as her son

meticulously sculpts sandcastles

with the help of a bucket and a spade

before belly-flopping them flat

under his childhood weight.

Alcoholic drinks are being mixed in blenders

like blood samples in a centrifuge.

The aroma of pizza and seafood is wafting

over the white sand dunes

as idle conversations struggle to overtake

the leonine roar of the surf.