I build my castles
my word castles
in the sand
I scoop the words
from the endless beach
wet
with sea water
tears
and spit
I pack them
word on word
carve them
with wit and wisdom
shovels and trowels
I build them
and they stand
glittering
in the sun
beneath a clear blue sky
shit on by gulls
and yet
they shine
in the heat
that dries and burns
the skin
on the nose and shoulders and soul
they are looked upon
by passers by
admired and scorned
and for an hour
a day
a season
as the passers by
pass by
the words
that stood
and stuck
and shone
silently get washed away
in the waves
of time
reality
into the miles and miles
of solitary sand words
on the beach
of anonymity
later to be
picked up
spit together
again and again
by the sandcastle builders
day by day
the hiss of time