From July 2-4:

The beach on the Fourth
Red, white, and blue, and that’s just
Tourists’ skin and lips

Bodies every shape
Umbrellas every color
Waves — just green, white, gray

Dreadlocks past her waist,
Wide body, richly tattooed
A living mural

Romping on wet sand
Playing tag, catching some rays
And that’s just the dogs

Two women, two dogs
Whippet, chihuahua, that’s the
Long and short of it

Diversity dogs
Golden-yellow by design
Big cross-bred beauties

Chihuahua trio
A dozen tap-dancing paws
Strain sequined leashes

Neat slashes in sand
Gangs mark their territory
The gulls and the terns

Beach boy loves the birds
But wishes they all could be
California gulls

Heads bob, dots in foam
Chocolate M&M’s in waves
Of ocean frosting

Solitary sail
An antenna attuned to
Wavelengths of the sea

Idyllic beach scene
Like movie but God doesn’t
Turn off wave machine

Lifeguard Station 5
Abandoned alien craft
From ’50s planet

Tiny house, west wall
Nothing but windows, gazing,
Catching every wave