1986

The Summer of 1986 was the last time I ever saw you,
on the beach where I had spent my childhood years.
It was a hot day, the beach crowded with childrens’ voices.
You were all alone by yourself, at the back of the beach,
trying to fade into the background
trying to protect yourself
Growing precariously between a plastic bottle and the cement staircase leading to the beach
You produced a large, white flower that was brighter than the sun
the petals gently waving in the sea breeze
Like a peace flag to the tourists in the hope of leaving you be
It was the last time I ever saw you on that beach
wondering if someone cut you
or if a beach umbrella fatally stabbed you at your bulb
or if you felt so lonely that you gave up
Pancratium Maritimum
Sea Daffodil
Beach Amaryllis
30 years later, I saw your relatives on a remote island
But I couldn’t bring myself to tell them that you were gone
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