A South Shore Summer Sonata                              

By D. E. Allen

I can hear my tires click across

the evenly spaced expansion grooves

of the parkways well worn pavement.

They are tapping out a steady beat,

in response to Long Island’s summer heat.

They gather to play a familiar tune,

a South Shore summer sonata.

Watching a Captree open fishing boat

slip sideways beneath Robert Moses’ twin spans,

wind and tide push the ship slowly;

a perfect drift for fluke.

A young couple dances past me on the sand,

I am sure in their heads they are listening to

A South Shore summer sonata.

As evening nears and the heat fades

I turn the handle of the shower stand

washing away the sand from between my toes.

My beach blanket flapping in the wind.

It's sound brings me back in time once again

and I start to sing of sandcastle memories,

A South Shore summer sonata.