Morning on the Beach

Shari Erickson

Morning on the Beach

Some brighter thing than sunlight touched the sea
And out of dawn arose a wind of joy;
They woke and chirped - my girl and then my boy - 
Like birds that have not learned what fears there be.

"And now", I thought, "there dawns a day to me:
One day, at least, defies moon-prophecies;
One day shall call the old world sorrows lies,
So let us now be happy utterly!"

Then we had playmates in the grains of sand -
I heard them, many-laughing by the water;
The sweet air thrilled to speech without a tongue.
They met my boy and took him by the hand
To venturous depths; they showed my little daughter
How children built on sand when time was young.

Georgia Wood Pangborn

A bit old-fashioned, yes, but the thing that gets me about this poem is that idea of taking a day, one day at least, to leave all fears and forebodings behind, and be completely happy. I'm on board with that all the way.