the heel press

on 08/19/07 at 01:23 PM

I love the photo! It fits perfectly with a short peice I wrote recently called, The Pelican (see below):

The idea of spending the night on the beach, sleeping under the stars was irresistibly compelling that sultry summer night.  In the pre-dawn darkness I was awakened by the rhythm of gently surging ocean waves and the cry of seagulls overhead. I imagined I was floating out to sea, wrapped in the delicious warmth of a comforting cocoon, only my face exposed to the ocean breeze.

Delicately suspended between dreams and awareness, I realized that a high tide had crept in overnight, soaking my sleeping bag and clothes. My pillow, now gritty with sand, felt damp and smelled of seaweed.

I opened one eye.  A lone pelican entered my line of vision, standing silently on one leg just a few feet away, perfectly silhouetted against the faint pink glow of the distant horizon.  A large piece of driftwood shaped like a “V” stood regally between the pelican and the sea, its branches extending skyward, framing the bird’s graceful pose.

It was a moment frozen in time.  At dawn, Mother Earth pushed the pause button in the fleeting space between night and daylight to purposely take pleasure in the beauty of nature and to welcome a new day with open arms. I blinked as blinding sunlight streaked across the sky. When I looked again, the pelican was gone. A seagull circled overhead. At sunrise, Father Time pushed play.

I was grateful I had surrendered to the compulsion of the night before…for now I know the difference between dawn and sunrise.

on 06/12/07 at 11:36 AM

on 06/11/07 at 10:53 AM