LOOKING BACK
Puerta La Cruz, Venezuela 1979

I walked today on a sea-swept shore
And thought , "How quickly died the trace
Of those who here have come before."
Then, looking back, I saw the place
My tracks had been, but were no more.
And so, it seemed, had passed the years
Without a trace of me behind
To mark the memory of my fears
Or ease regrets that filled my mind.
I moved on, further up the beach
But, taking care to put my feet
Where only few of the waves could reach.
Then, on a stone I took my seat.
As my tracks dissolved I studied each.
And so, at last, it came to me-
The fallacy of looking back
For sights I nevermore will see.
Then, from a sense of loss or lack
I watched my tracks wash out to sea.