I drive the end of the strip 

Me and my pup want to see the end of it 

On a holiday Friday afternoon 

Where all the people in my hometown are new 

Tourists dot the beach like seaweed after a storm 

I was thinking I’m glad this isn’t the norm

On the Fourth of July they take over the willow-laden park 

Flags, giant inflatable floats, and campers make their mark 

I think like this and I don’t know why 

I yearn for winter in everyone’s favorite season 

Who would ever put up a sign that says NO DOGS

I can’t wait to see all the police, the park rangers, the lifeguards, the tourists leavin’

If you ask me, they’re a bunch of hogs

Smoking their burgers and joints

The kids yelling Marco Polo

What is the point?

The colors are bright 

Let the fish be

I like to think this shore, this bay are my birthright

I’ve seen things I can’t unsee

And the humid air sticks to each person like sunscreen

Me and my pup just want a little relief 

Fall, won’t you come in like a thief?

By then I’ll be in my wetsuit 

No one will be on the pier or the jetties 

The park will be ours too 

It’ll be too cold for all the tourists 

The beach will be reclaimed by the locals! 

Even the poorest 

Maybe this is just a rant in my solipsism

But my desire is noble 

These holidays, these years, all the fireworks are just a schism 

Between what was and is 

Between life and after-life 

I just want the beach back where I live

Give me those 7 miles 

When everyone else will say It’s too cold 

Me and my dog will take over – DOGS WELCOME !

We’ll frolic like a child 

No gaudy floats or unsightly swimsuits, no loud music 

A little less sun

We won’t have to talk to anyone 

I’m getting old but this beach is my favorite still 

It’s my anti-depressant, my anxiety pill 

I may see an old neighbor in the distance, in the cold 

Give him a half smile as I trot 

By the bay, where the lines between earth and the heavens and between locals and 7-11s are drawn 

In the off season, it’s the refuge for those who’ve been here all along