the beach was wide and long,
a perfect place for the beach goers
to gambol in the surf and white sand,
sunny, warm, romantic
but
not today,
no, not today.
today is bleak, not cold like
east coast cold,
overcast, cool, misty,
bleak;
the older couple walk next to the surf,
holding hands;
the man, older than his woman,
has begun to show a bit of a shuffle;
life has begun to look like the beach,
not the sunny, gamboling place for frolic
but
bleak, harsh winds,
overcast, cool, misty;
even in his sea time years before,
he always thought this type of sea day
was beautiful,
enchanting in its own way
and
he had coaxed her into their walk today;
their love no longer held the passion
of earlier days,
replaced by something more permanent:
togetherness, eternal togetherness,
the strongest love of all
and
walking in the bleak overcast, cool, misty,
they remembered,
yes, they remembered
and
they would not forget.