The Rainbow Kites

Photo by Mike Wheeler

Evening at the beach,
six of us sing with delight, 
pouring ourselves into the lapping waves,
Aphrodite’s lacy foam blessing us.
Two turn back home, remembering, 
because today, just this day,
this windy June evening full of light,
is the perfect day for kites.
Two bright rainbow kites, one short, one long,
unfurl into the sky as if born there.
Higher and higher, released and released
by loving hands on the strings,
the brilliant tails whip and flutter,
exulting in freedom, 
at home in Oya’s winds.
We loll in the warm waters,
washed inland and out 
in the undertow’s slow rhythm,
leaning on one elbow, head tilted to the sky,
as the evening sun and the two kites
vie for our attention.
I remember my son, 
whose kite this once was,
and there he is, 
visiting these beloved women,
laughing, untethered by string.
For that moment, we connect, 
the kite and the spirit,
the wind and the women lolling in the surf.
The rainbow kite snaps its tail 
and shouts with joy
for this windy day,
as families pass by, hand in hand,
the sun setting slowly in the surf.

Annelinde Metzner
Folly Beach
June 9, 2014

The Beach Babes

Rainbow kite