Spindrift

Spindrift

Lean overboard; study the water.
Watch the tide within the tide.

Circles spin in the current, strong
enough to double back against the flow.

Small whirlpools course laterally,
Not down. Drifting forward with the tide,
Then back.

Each spin gathers more drift:
Stick of wood,
Leg of crab,
Tuft of grass,
Feather of gull,

Passersby with no ill intent
The tidejust collecting passengers
Perhaps us

on a joy ride to the ebb.