the Django putt putts homewards
nursing the shore’s edge
as the other solitary occupant on the beach
alters tack and moves towards me
'I’m new around here'
he announces
'Is there anything I should know?
About the tides? Am I safe?'
pausing briefly i reply
'Sorry, new around here as well
and add; Beautiful day; like Summer...'
and then we pass and move our separate ways
he strolling back to the crumbling path along the dunes
while i prefer to plash in the thin waves that whisper
across the damp sands
we greet one another in the same manner
each time we meet on Hightown Beach
each seeking, at this time,
only the safety of words not the truth of them
companions on different roads who seek merely
to announce our presence before continuing
to walk alone the paths that each has chosen