Taffy

Jenna Tobias

The soles of my shoes form imprints upon a golden shore,
Soon to be devoured by starving waves.
Lit by a caramelized sunset casting its radiance over distant moors.
Seaworn glass hangs from trees, bottled secrets kept just out of reach.
They clink and sing and twirl in the breeze,
In time with hushed waters and seagull shrieks.
Salt water taffy sweetens the receding tide.
Colors of vast arrays.
Delicious flavors of every kind
Dispel forlorn dismay.

Footprints find homes in the sand, and the crab pays it no mind.
Human-made disturbances fill the whimsy of Mother Nature’s creation.
Tumultuous waves cradle sailboats in bittersweet embraces.
To make it to the end of the beach, wrappers tucked in pockets, my steps hasten.
The sea reaches with splaying waves,
Liquid fingers flexing and grabbing.
At sand.
At shoes.
At taffy so chewy it melts like cotton candy.

Searchlights cut through the shadowed gloom.
The lighthouse rivals the moon.
I think of all that has been lost to unfathomable depths.
Skeletal remains and riches laid to rest.
Shipwrecks and rusted husks of plane.
A haunting, lonesome mess of histories past.
Old tales of time that we simply cannot grasp.
What lies at the bottom of the sea,
Where anglerfish thrive in the deep?

Sailors linger at the port, satisfied smiles stretching fatigued faces.
Schools of fish struggle in nets.
I gather the taffy wrappers
And feed them to the ravenous bin.

Jenna Tobias is an aspiring author from Chicago who enjoys writing about all things creepy and strange. It is her dream to publish a novel. When she isn't writing, she's tending to her houseplants and catching up on episodes from her favorite shows!