Poetry in Motion
San Francisco
Baker Beach
Melissa Stein
Baker Beach
Close your eyes on that startled
vision: fishing line strung taut
by the waves’ tall pressure: cold sugar
of a fish’s mouth clamping the bait’s steel
surprise. Hold fast against the tide, its spray
finer than pleasure against your sun-
ruddy face. Understand there’s nowhere
to go. I mean you have nowhere
you must go. What we trust is the sound
of the sea, its chill shock, our faith
in its change. Rolling together and under
and up and apart and on to the next
body. This is the pacific.
Reprinted with the permission of the author. All rights reserved.Muni Art 2020, San Francisco Beautiful, sfbeautiful.org. Poster design by Jocelyn Li Langrand.