Tight in curves

ample and vibrant

She dressed warm

from the north with friends

nonstop in a late spring night

to hear this southern beach

to stroll the T-shirt avenue.

“Tourist hunting,” she smiled

and every wave crawled the beach

and fell to a fist closer

to our silhouette beneath

staggered boardwalk lamps.

“Hardly true,” I remember

desire dyslexic in green eyes,

red hair full and fragrant

standing naked in a hot season

tan, sleek, in a room where

portraits hang on entry walls.

Our sea sprayed premature.

Too early the northeast wind

swept moon and ocean cold.

Your friends stood waiting by neon,

“Draft Beer and Hot Dogs,” that night

and you never late.