Castle

All it seems I ever build are castles made of sand

Tall and preen by my will to crumble down again

Scattered by the passing breeze or trailing tail of wave

Far away from raging seas yet not a single have I saved

Could one be held in place by some unknown greater force

Despite greatest effort to find, none have stayed the course

Crustaceans conspire against my plans to level them again

And floating fish are saddened by the trembling of my hands

By determination they steady and gather back once more

Collecting finest particles with bones and joints still sore

Perhaps these jewels are just too hard to make them to cohere

Still too sharp at points, brittle too, and not so crystal clear

Though they may hope as prisms to widely disperse rays

They fall back into random crags leaving a lonely maze

The grains themselves battered by rising tide and salt

Restrain their hopes and their vigour bringing to a halt

The kind of collective intentionality needed for true bond

If could be saved by incantation, by word & waving wand

I’d draw a circle and gather gales to assist this wobbly wizard

To leave behind those frames of mind of earlier affect blizzard

For the sun it can warm well-worn hands spurring creative action

To gather once again the sands and sculpt to true satisfaction

This Sisyphean cycle casts meaning far off and to the side

It’s not the end or goal that glistens but only playful eyes

The gulls know this and so let air to carry all their burdens

With shovel I twist and pile high, renewed feeling returning

My castle may not long stand, by end of day it is only beach

But the memories of it just by my side I cherish one & each

- Brandon Fenton 2014