The Breakwater Where the Gulls Sit in a Row

To you, The afternoon sun lay long along the breakwater. The gulls have been sitting in a line for a while now, and that spot, I suddenly realize, is exactly where we used to lean our backs. The gulls gaze at the sea with faces that wait for no one. That day we counted the waves with our toes and talked about how far we could go. The waves still break against the breakwater in the same rhythm, and the gulls bob their heads as if they had been listening to that sound for years. Even now, on crowded days, I find myself looking for that spot without meaning to.