Digging

by Dean Solon

i want to build a wall

says the young girl

as she plays upon the beach.

both of us comment

we have never seen

so much construction in the sand.

high castles and deep canyons,

ramparts and battlements.

one after another the humans beings-

especially the young ones-

seeking to create sites

sacred and safe.

i wonder

is this a worldwide phenomenon,

right now, all over the earth, on the shorelines

children playing and working

to build, to find,

shelter from the storm.

everywhere, it seems,

excavating is being done,

streams reaching to the sea

and gullies leading to the higher ground.

yesterday 

near where we sat 

two young boys 

were putting great effort

digging a giant hole.

today the canyon is gone,

the receding tide

having had its way with it.

i wonder

as I find my way to the beach chair

i left long ago

is this too a worldwide phenomenon,

some of us who have witnessed

what is happening

wanting to write what we are watching:

our species drawn to shores

digging

building

a new world

I want to build a wall

said a girl

on the beach