LOST MOMENT I

Lost Moment I ,  clay and sand sculpture by Candace Knapp
5 inches by 5 inches by 5 inches      Photo Bjorn Andren


LOST MOMENT I

As I sit here on this bench
looking out at the vast blue ocean sliding into the sky
I try to remember the first time I saw the Pacific.
I think I was eight.
I grew up in landlocked Indiana
always wondering what the ocean was like.
Dad had decided to spend our two week Summer vacation
driving West to California.
This was before the super highways were built
and I remember the time spent in the motels studying the map
and writing down the different numbers of the routes to be taken.
The rest is a blur except for that magical moment...
I sensed it long before I saw it...something in the air,
the sound of seagulls, the wind, the smell...
I remember I ran across the sand
tore off my shoes and put my feet in the water... cold..
Then my hand and tasted it...salty.
It was as if the globe in our classroom had come alive.

Now I am trying to remember all my first moments:
first time I rode a bicycle...fast down the big hill by our house,
first time I kissed a boy...strange, scary, exciting,
first time I saw a hummingbird...so magical I almost believed in fairies
I can’t remember them all
they dissolve into the past like sand castles at the beach.
Are there any more firsts left for me?
Only one thing to do, prepare a feast of new firsts:
first trip to India,
first time to dance the Tango,
first camping trip in Colorado,
first road trip without a destination.