Mansions on the beach

Just a little bit of dunes between the ocean and the living room

We admired the houses from below, from the public walkway through the private property

But something struck us as an oddity

On a beautiful September Sunday

There wasn’t a single person on a balcony

No one in their mansion being lazy

And there were no cars in the driveways

We traversed the dunes

How nature soothes

The 20-minute drive was worth the view

The sprawling strip of crushed seashells

The feel and sight of that sparkling ocean makes us well

We headed for it

Left our few belongings behind on the sand

And from the water we looked up at the nearby mansions

Not a soul on the balconies

Just some out-of-towners enjoying this beach

We floated, we scooped up hermit crabs

Simply to admire them, then put them back

We stayed till sunset

On the way out, on that private walkway, I saw something I’ll never forget

A girl who looked my age peered down from her well-lit loft

It was a room coming off her mansion

She was paler than the light

She went back to her desk

I thought about how my father was right

He always told me to go to the beach

I was worried about my studies but he said the waves and sand, the birds could teach

So I settled for the middle ground

Worked around

Never made it to the top

But I found in my mid 20s where it was time to stop

No career’s gonna quell my innate need for it

There’s no paycheck that can buy something more important

Time and youth

Sea and sand

My best friend’s hand – in mine

On a Sunday, on any day

I’ll take my chance in the waves

The mansion’s not for me

It’s a great white, just like a lucrative career

So I’ll just watch from the waves as all my childhood ambitions disappear

While some people slave

This beach always has and always will – tether me