A Day at the Beach 

It was beautiful at the beach that day,

The sun was shining bright,

The temperature was pleasant,

The on-shore breeze was light. 

A man took to the water,

To cool off with a swim,

He’d come alone to the beach,

No one had noticed him. 

Happily he waded out,

Past the wash and foam,

He dove right through a breaking wave,

His heart felt right at home. 

He swam out past the breakers,

The water was deep, but mild,

His body cooled in the ocean swell,

He was delighted as a child. 

He floated on his back,

His face turned to the sky,

But in his bliss he failed to notice,

The beach was drifting by. 

The afternoon tide had begun to make,

Rip currents below the swell,

But the man, floating, failed to notice,

He heard no warning bell. 

Beachside, a girl looked up and stared,

He drifted with great speed,

She hesitated to call out,

He likely wouldn’t heed. 

Another man looked up and thought,

“He floats as in a pool!”

Then returning to his book, he said,

“That man is such a fool.” 

The floating man was all refreshed,

He would now head for land,

But as he probed down with his feet,

He could not feel the sand. 

“No matter,” said the man aloud,

“To fear, there is no cause.”

But when he saw his stuff had moved,

It gave his courage pause. 

He studied for a moment,

The strange blankets, umbrellas, faces,

Then taking a great breath, he put,

His body through its paces. 

His arms drawing, his feet kicking,

Methodically he swam,

But when he stopped to check his progress,

He still could touch no sand. 

For he had now come to a place,

Where two currents joined their lee,

And like the clipper ships of old,

He was standing out to sea. 

Choking back his fear, he thought,

He’d try harder to swim,

Being alone, he figured that,

No one would rescue him. 

A man sat on a blanket,

He looked up from the sand,

And seeing the swimmer’s toil, he thought,

“Perhaps he needs a hand.” 

He inquired of a woman,

Who was then passing by,

“Do you think that man’s in trouble?”

He pointed ‘twixt sea and sky. 

The woman turned her head and watched,

The swimmer beyond the spray,

“It seems he’s doing well enough”,

She said, then walked away. 

Not satisfied the man looked up,

To where the lifeguard sat,

But he was busy with a lady,

Engaged in friendly chat. 

The man looked out again and thought,

It seems there is no harm.

And when the swimmer looked his way,

He waved a friendly arm. 

The swimmer paused, now treading,

He stared in disbelief,

At some man, a fool no doubt,

Waving at him from the beach. 

“Does he not know my danger?

Does he not even care?

Does anyone understand my plight,

That I may drown right here?” 

His strength nearly exhausted,

He lay back for to float.

“When I get to Spain,” he thought,

“I hope they’ll send a boat!” 

But he only went out just so far,

The current then reversed.

It carried him back up the beach,

To where he swam at first. 

Swiftly he floated back to,

Where his stuff did lie.