ocean city 5:27 am

salty waves crash the beach.
in the moonlight seagulls
fly past like ufos.
to the left an unseen
dog barks at ghosts
and on my right two
old women walk side by
side, their conversation
an incomprehensible
yawn.

the sea sparkles like
diamonds while a buoy
drunkenly flashes red
as fishing boats sail out
to horizon’s edge
an hour before
dawn.