Turning over

April 24, 1987

the garden, the hoe churns up black surf. Starlings whirl and wheel overhead, seagulls in reverse. Hear the ocean singing, again, again, turn it under, make shore. The wind billows at my back as I move like a plover pecking the dirt. The shovel gives: slick, slice. Pick out a chunk of granite, hold it to your ear, you can almost smell the sea.