Party by Lisa Young

There was a party on the shore of a bay.
Sea wind. The whole Pacific.

Under the shadow of a mountain,
a lone gull rode the dark blue waves

with a singular swagger and a look
that said, I’m the whole seaside show.

We would have pulled up a seat
but there were no chairs,

no dry sand. The ground
packed with oval stones

that played with our sense of balance.
The mountain, in clear view

across the small bay, lifted a cup
of clouds to us,

the miniature celebrants poised
on the pebbled beach.

— from Juniper Volume 7, Issue 1