Brutality or kindness, which latches—bleak—
   & lingers longest after the jolt to the craw,
the bright spring of tears? It’s like the sea,

maybe—the kissing crush of knees, mouth, greeting
   terra firma: home at last. Home, home, yes!
But then the savage withdrawal, the retreat,

shells, frags, paltry stones pelting the proverbial heel,
   as, naked & slick, the astonished sand
stares back, like the brunt of an out-of-the-blue bad deal,

a diss, a bad review, the suds & chemical salts of the soul
   breaking-up in the wake of an anonymous jeer—!
Or is it, rather, the stranger, who, having righted your bike,

your shaky heart, your book, calls over a shoulder, already,
   also, up & away: Hope you’re okay!