Why is slowing down so hard

The pelicans have it down

They circle and soar, a performing art

I watch from the shore as they plummet

Beaks break the water with a crashing sound

Their very own summit

But my eyes are elsewhere, looking for the next thing

Maybe a wave, they come in succession

Or those little sand pipers peckin’

Or the seashells and seaweed that make a trail

The gray clouds float

Then there’s a gale

I move down the shore

After what, I’m not sure

What’s in front of me

It’s all a blur

So I adjust my eyes

To look at the sprawling beach

I’m not trying to cross the ocean or even dip my toes

It’s cold, my pup knows

The clouds move on before I recognize their shapes

I look back but it’s too late

And the waves are all different

The beach birds are pendants

I’m in a wonderland

I slow down to read it like a story

To listen to it like a friend

The older I get, the more I believe Someone put it here for me

Heaven is here

It’s right in front of me

Not around the bend

The birds aren’t worried and neither am I

I’m slowing down to take it in

What’s in front of me now

Before I die