Beachcombing

Walking and searching the tideline and talking

about finding what we are still seeking.

For now, driftwood, sponge coral, mermaid’s toenails.

Later,  quantum consciousness, alternate realities, the soul.

Intertidal items of value, interest or utility.

I was surprised to find that the first appearance of the word “beachcombers” in print was in Herman Melville’s Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas in 1847. Melville used the term to describe a population of Europeans who lived in South Pacific islands, “combing” the beach and nearby water for flotsam, jetsam, or anything else they could use or trade