Before We Leave

Walk the beach one more time.
Pause to pick up jingle shells:
Gray, orange, white
And fragile.

Search for the glossy black point
Amid fragments of broken shells.
Gather the shark’s tooth and
Drop it in the corner of a pocket.

Collect the stones
cashew-carved by pounding seas.
Rub your thoughts into them.

Now I understand
why it’s difficult
to throw away my pockets when I’m home.