It looked like a painting you’d see in a museum

A thin brunette woman sitting on the shoreline

I thought about where I am

She had a child in each arm

Somewhere on the beach a red flag flew

Neither she nor I knew

Sure, it was windy

But the gentle waves seemed friendly

I walked with my 100-pound dog

People no longer ask

I no longer care

She and I both had short hair

In the fog

I didn’t envy her

She didn’t notice me

Was her dog at home

The tattoo on her chest was four small feet

The charm on my necklace, a pawprint

At the beach was where our time was spent

The wind and waves churned

Into the sea went the tide

The sun and wind burned

I looked again and she was terrified

There was just one child in her arm

I turned my head and my dog had also disappeared

It was a state of alarm

A new painting: two frazzled women on the beach

We stood on the shore and scanned the sea

Where were our babies

We both waded into the surf

Looking for skin, for fur

The lifeguard stand was empty

She handed me binoculars, nifty

A rope was in her hands

I saw my chance

A wave lifted me up and I scanned

There! A sea monster with a prize in its mouth

I gave a shout

She threw the rope

I swam to them

Grabbed the rope and she pulled us in

The humungous Golden retriever, with a kid in his mouth, was fine

But the kid had died

We started CPR

The kid was blue as the sea

His mother cried

I did too

My dog knelt by his side

When finally, a pulse and a breath

The kid’s color returned

We all rejoiced

My pup was covered in seaweed

What I learned: love is what me and that woman, even my dog believed

To dive into the ocean, to risk it all for one in need

Do we deliver each other

Are we not all on the same beach