Wisps of blonde swept aside
dropped eyes, a black fringe
rests on cheeks, plump and rose
on the sand, not alone
Black leather shoes and indigo frocks
woven into a charcoal shield
cloaked in time by pinafores
white, but soon vanquished and vacant
French sun, glistening sand,
peach-pink and warm yellow,
cerulean sea slips into the sky
two small girls sit rapt
Straw hat hides sister’s face
scarlet bow trimmed with joy
legs obscured by chestnut wool
choked in summer’s heat
Sisters sit with two pails blue
as blue as that shimmering sea
sand tamped with a long trowel
into the full pail of childhood