Walking on the beach at sunrise with a brother and sister is a gift that will keep on giving. It’s a time to collect and recollect. A gift glistens in the sound of the waves. Incessantly the waves come and go, washing away the missteps the mistakes of our past. It is a cleansing sound. The deepness of the ocean is not so frightening at the shore; although the power of the waves makes me feel small. I wonder, at the edge of this great mystery of the sea, from where have I come and when will I return with the lessons this life has given me? Does this family reunion prompt such thoughts? It seems that as we return to our family of origin, we can never be who we were. We can only offer what we have become. We have been formed in our separate existences. Our life choices have brought us to paths of dangers and blessings. But somehow, what we make of our unique happenings has been pre-formed by the common clay of our childhood. It is good to reconnect to that.

A Reunion Tanka

Seashells on the shore

Skeletons once full of life

A wounded gull limps

But he can still fly and swim

The shells are not so lucky.