Day Break In Florida

A tangle of moss in the new gray dawn— Palm fronds whisper hush, hush— Waves shiver on the sand. The sea sighs like a tired dreamer. Fiddler crabs scuttle sideways in the hush— Sideways like folks around here, Slipping sideways in the hush. Behind ragged shacks, I stand. Smoke curls like a question mark. A rooster crows a single note of gold. Somebody’s frying fish, crab cakes, And hush puppies. Breakfast for the sun, maybe. Somebody’s humming the blues— A low, slow song of yesterday’s chain gang. But the sea keeps calling— Even the sand listens— Dreaming of a better tomorrow, In nineteen sixty six.