I stand on slippery stones
As a brisk breeze cuts across the cove
Seaweed peeking between my toes
Waves crashing against bare ankles

A stranded starfish abandoned in its wake

A salty zephyr forces open my lungs
And I breathe in
Slowly
For the first time
In years

The starfish struggles on slippery rocks

A dangling star warms my naked shoulders
And I breathe out
Slowly
For the first time
In years

I liberate my stranded friend
Now nestled neatly in my palm
Now an orphan of the vast ocean
When something pokes at the skin

I turn my friend onto its back
Very gently
A row of tiny legs curl and swell and vacillate
Like little white needles trying to thread the sky

And I smile at nature’s ingenuity
For the first time
In years

The sand feels cool and coarse against my feet
As I place my orphaned companion
Very gently
Far away from slippery stones

It quickly buries itself beneath the wet sand
Hiding from an indignant sun
Finding respite
Where land and sea converge

Photograph and Prose copyright Mike Yost 2016