On a cloudless night, meandering through life, I went for a stroll on Santa Barbara Beach. Sleep would not befriend me- she never does actually. Fag in mouth and flask in hand, I walked. No particular destination in aim, absorbing myself in wanderers’ eyes, wondering. What I mean by absorbed myself is protruding through eyes of a stranger: seeing them naked. You lose yourself- feeling for one moment someone is lonelier than you. That’s what you imagine, anyway.
The whiskey tasted old. An ungodly hour welcomes few beyond the local kids’ crew trying to find family in a land of aliens- trading blowjobs for knives. I traded a drunken hobo the flask for a seashell. One of those that you held up to your ear when you were little- hearing the ocean louder than your thoughts.
Veering from the pier, I strolled for minute-less hours. No one was around. I leaned back against the rocks and dug my feet into the cold sand.
I love how the moon dances on waves of the tide. Humming a tune, the waves clapped while the moon performed.
An approaching shadow tiptoed across blue sand.
Rubbing sandy eyes with sandy hands only blurs vision more.
Too dark to see through squinting eyes.
I began to make out a figure.
An old woman skipping and tearing off her clothes- Dancing.
Underarm skin wind-flapping.
Flowers of lace falling to the ground.
Fluorescent white hair lit up her face-
She was laughing with someone I could not see.
Did she escape time for a moment?
Was she remembering love long ago?
She waltzed with the moon, while I watched from the rocks.
I was jealous of the old hag.
How could she dance at this time?
Too perfect to be intoxicated.
I wanted to join her, dancing and laughing.
My heart leapt but muddy feet cemented the sand.
Frozen-
I watched for second-less minutes until she
Stopped.
Her Tilted Star-filled head slowly rolled until it hung.
Staring at calloused bare-feet,
The old woman stood naked.
Alone-
A tear fell from her heart.
The salty memories tasted good.
As a smile crept from quivering lips
She remembered
And that was enough.
That’s what I imagined anyway.
