The Dunes
It didn’t occur to us
To take note of where
We came through the dunes.
All we saw was the sea,
Which kept flooding
The fire of damp driftwood
I kept trying
To get to light,
While you blew life
Into it, then blew it out.
When it came time
To go we couldn’t
Find the trail in the dark,
Though we must have
Walked past it half
A dozen times.
We’d start up a gully,
The sea murmuring
‘Cold, cold, warmer,’
Then lose faith
In it and back
Down to try another
We’d already tried.
It was as if the way
We had come had closed
Behind us.
Of course
We found it,
Which was fortunate.
Some couples might
Have survived one night
On the dunes,
But not us.
We were never quite
Enough for each other.