Toes of Red Sand

I wake up early

to admire

her virgin beauty

untouched by footprints

untrammeled by man

unscathed by debris

waiting for me.

Gentle waves lap at

her toes of red sand

little crumbled shells

compose her lush body.

The tide comes in to cleanse

her soul with bubbly froth

like little soap suds purging

and scrubbing her essence

but her fair skin remains.

The blush of her grains

harbors a cloaked habitat

of scurrying crabs heading

for home in their little holes.

Sea turtles lumber up

from the sea

to bury their eggs

in her sandy refuge

coddled by her arms

until ready to hatch.

Sea grasses warm her

and drape her extremes

with wild beach flowers

and cactus blossoms

while furtive rats

and venomous snakes

are kept away by

the jade turf of grass.

She shifts in merriment

at the cavorting dolphins

and watches sharks with

their fins skulking offshore.

Sandpipers skitter along

her seashore

nibbling at bait

brought in by the sea.

The pink sand shifts

and changes and

puts on new costumes

but enthralls me forever

with her enfolding peace.