“On the Beach at Abbotts Lagoon” by David Rosenthal

Point Reyes, California

Waking up, remembering where I am,
I try to get my bearings as I stand.

The brown pelicans shadow broken waves,
while snowy plovers dart along the strand.

Staring out at a fraction of an ocean,
glancing down at a million grains of sand,

I let my eyes adjust to what’s around me,
and shake the nap I’d only halfway planned.

originally appeared in The Wild Geography of Misplaced Things (White Violet Press, 2013)

David Rosenthal lives in Berkeley, California, and works as a teacher and instructional coach in the Oakland Unified School District. His poems and translations have appeared in Rattle, Teachers & Writers Magazine, Birmingham Poetry Review, Measure, Raintown Review, Unsplendid, and many other print and online journals. He has been a Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award Finalist and a Pushcart Prize Nominee. His collection, The Wild Geography of Misplaced Things, was released by Kelsay Books in 2013.