Coming Up For Air

I wait on either side of the river
              near the railroad trestle
half the time & half again
                              an egret gives me the
fish-eye
because I know there are only
              a few steps from there
to the beach
& if you keep your eyes peeled for
                              syringes in the sand
you’ll get there
in a snap
              to look out across the
shorebreak its muffled roar
seeming even more diminished
                              this time
& the fog (like me)
out there trying to decide where to go
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Beneath the water there’s more
water
              that’s about the only thing
I can be sure of right now but
then again I could be
mistaken