She Said Hello

        She Said Hello

She said 'Hello, I’m digging

sand nests' and handed 

out shovels.

Seagulls lurked nearby

shouting manic laughter

keeping an eye open

for unattended food.

Farther along the beach,

six shrieking dervishes

flirt with the water’s edge.

And the kelp garlands

strewn across rocks

host a caucus of starlings.

-Kathryn Harper