Dune gap.
Bent grass bows,
surf sound swells from west,
Deafening
both ears.
Wind walls in,
Buffeting
ribs, cheek.
Swells stack steep,
wave face folds to foam,
salt spray stings bare skin—
Peppering
lip, lid.
Froth falls back,
Harrowing
loose stones.
Shingle shifts, clacks,
round rocks roll and grind,
tide teeth gnaw stack, cave,
waves wear whole headlands down to sand—
Leveling
boot-prints.
Each print brims, blurs,
Vanishing
mid-stride.
Roar rolls in,
roar rolls in through ear,
roar rolls in through ear, skull,
roar rolls in through ear, skull, thought,
roar rolls in through ear, skull, thought, name—
Hollowing
chest, gut.
Tide turns out,
sea slides off slick flats,
Limitless
grey glass.
Dusk drains down,
Silvering
tide-wrack.

Trail starts.
Stone stairs drop,
fern fronds brush each shin,
mist coils through bark, branch, bough—
Scattering
drip, spray.
Rain runs cold,
Battering
plank, root.
Thick planks thud,
knees jar, joints grind,
Shattering
nerve, shin.
Damp duff reeks,
Severing
all sense.
Tall trunks loom,
red bark blocks sky,
dim green-gloom dies slow—
Silencing
all breath.
Pale light pools,
thin shafts thread through fog,
Fracturing
all light.
Drip sounds slow,
Cavernous
dark vault.
Cold creeps close,
cold creeps close through bone,
cold creeps close through bone, nerve,
cold creeps close through bone, nerve, thought—
Smothering
all self.
Roots run deep,
cold creek carves through stone,
bright brown bark sheds rain—
Weathering
hard years.
Mist moves slow,
Bottomless
drip-stone.

Path bends.
Wet woods drip,
fallen leaves pack the path,
one yellow bench shows through brush—
Luminous
flaked paint.
Paint peels back,
Opening
grey wood.
Grey grain lifts,
split planks prick thumb,
Splintering
thumb skin.
Hand holds rail,
pitch pulls palm through rain,
leaf-gloss fills foot-path—
Covering
boot-print.
Mud holds heel,
Anchoring
right foot.
Fog folds low,
fir trunks fence west,
Narrowing
west view.
Bench burns bright,
yellow rails rake shade,
wet paint flakes, black pits,
rain beads cling to bolt-head, slat—
Glimmering
wet steel.
Leaves bank low,
leaves lap front legs,
leaves lap leg, rung, seat—
Burying
four feet.
No name stays,
rain rubs names from grain,
Weathering
cut lines.
Moss mats slots,
soft rot splits board,
small roots run through board, frame—
Rendering
leaf-mould.