New Years Day, 1999.

I went to the beach on new years day. Brain still bruised from the previous night's excesses.

I saw a brand new family playing on the beach: Fit, surfer dad. Beaming, freckled mother. Fresh, crawling baby.

I saw the young father laughing and playing with his child. It seems as though both father and child were learning how to play from the other.

I kept thinking, "What an amazing year they have in store."

I took their picture and wrote a little poem about them. When I went to ask if I could send them a copy, they said they were visiting from Ireland. So I got their email address to send them a scan of the photo. The whole interaction just felt good.

Rosy cheeks.
Rosy world.
World wide. Wild.
Crawling child
of a child of a child of a child.
Father learns to play.
New family, new years day.

Jan 1, nineteen99


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