Kirby Wright
Observations from Oceanside, California
The beach is nearly deserted.
Sandpipers scuttle,then stab the wet sand
with beaks.A jogger appears
then disappearsinto a mirage
rising off the strand.The day smells industrial.
A power plant to the southsends black plumes
out of its tower.A man paddles a boogie board
through the shallows.Offshore, a gray destroyer
treads water. It seemsas harmless as
a bathtub toy.The war is a distant thing
where men, womenand children die
beyond the bent horizon.