Woman with a Vase

into the wind:
the air had come over from the one side
and left a mark
on the water's cold edge.
the sun shining down caught the steady breeze
shaking the beach with bits of light.
and where it was dry:
a child's toy, two women talking about life,
distant organ grinder music, a plastic fork,
an assemblage of bric-a-brac, and so forth.
with a flower vase carried in her right hand
which held ointment instead of fresh cuttings,
a drowning girl sat nearby on her shadow,
her bald head a mystery.
she looked up and saw a cloud
about to block the sun.
a kite fluttered overhead
when a young boy unrolled his string.