They had dredged the beach all that summer.
It was interesting to observe the machines do their work.
When it was complete, and the fences had gone,
I was greeted with expanse and light-coloured sand.
Water and rocks in the distance.
Bare trees and silent horns.
The sand is frozen now hard and supportive.
It doesn’t roll under your feet like in the summer
when you have to dig in with your toes and push off to walk.
The wind numbed my old knees, and I was elated.
I heard the slow sluggishness of the river on the shoreline, and I couldn’t wait to witness the freezing.