Snapshots by the Sea

We stand on a strand 

somewhere on the coast.  

I’m holding my daughter 

and my father is smiling.  

The sea is the backdrop, 

cold blue and calm—  

not like the storm  

that was brewing  

beyond us :  

A cerebral tsunami  

that capsized the lifeboats;  

left us marooned  

on a beach  

like broken shells.