Return to the Sea

Seven months in the high desert

and we returned to the sea.

Children's recall of suppers at Grandma's,

football with Papa,

wet kisses from Joe,

more than waves and sunsets and shells,

pushed for the long two-day drive.

We reveled in October perfection,

rewarded with warmth and waves,

family love shared around football and food, 

part of Texas we'd never seen

and even a brief jaunt to a state new to us.

to sink souls into sugar-white sand,

laugh and let the blue-green waves wash over 

Recount memories of beautiful days spent gathering shells in silent revery,

walking stretches in wind and sun.

Revel in a return to magnolias and mossy oaks,

Southern food from the sea,

And family dear to our hearts.

And then for the first time in two years,  

We anticipated turning home,

And for the first time,

We called New Mexico home,

Felt the thrill of crossing the state line & the excitement build

To come home to the mesa, 

A sky strangely like the sea - vast and bigger than ourselves - 

And wind through the pinon that sings like waves.