A Wash of Shell-gathering

        morning fog
        gathering seashells
             in silence


 trout stream --
gathering shells and rocks
        near the shore


        gathering shells
        from shallow tide pools
        waves strike the rocks


gathering shells
he dashes to and from
the water's edge


        ankle deep --
        seeing thick barnacles
        under the pier


gathering shells --
the clatter of each addition
the only sound


        watching the seagulls
        drop clams onto the rocks
        -- gathering the shells


gathering shells --
through thick sea fog
        a gull's cry


        gathering shells --
        the smell of seaweed
        in the sunshine


gathering shells --
fighting with the waves
for that large nautilis


        gathering shells --
        she runs to pluck
        a real starfish


gathering shells
beneath the cliff --
echoes of waves


        gathering shells
        unable to see
        the far shore