Remember when we were just 16

I can still smell the ocean

We wore tankinis because they were modest

Back then we were just deep down hoping to be the hottest

Our dads looked over us but I think now we both know

It was divine providence

In our 30s now, it’s obvious

We averted a lot of traps

Ill-intentioned boys, car wrecks, alcohol

We stayed on the sidelines but had a ball

Remember driving the strip, just you and me

I brought my dad’s surfboard, you brought yours

We paddled out

In the evening

It didn’t matter that surfing was something we knew nothing about

We talked about music and watermelon, our ambitions

We didn’t even talk much about boys

We’d lie supine on those floating boards, stare at the clouds like it was tradition

The Atlantic waters would slap the sides

We weren’t worried back then about shorts and thighs

We’d stay till sunset then drive the strip back to your house

We’d get ice cream and watch a movie, say hey to all the people in your house

Your brothers and sister, all the people from church

At 34 now I feel like I’m on an island

It’s like the tide took everyone out

How I miss you, my friend

You’re on the Gulf

Seems to me somewhere in between you met the wolf

Tankinis turned into bikinis

With time came men and martinis

A few crashes

He bit you good

Worse than any shark

I hope you know you’re still in my heart

And divine providence is not lost

All hope isn’t tossed

I dream for us to go back to the sea

Grab your board and meet me

I hope you didn’t get rid of it

My father will let me borrow his again

Run from the wolf, I’ll get off this island

Let’s go to the beach, get some ice cream

Bob in the waves

Like when we were 16