Building on Sand

The ocean was for him as light

to a master of stained-glass

windows ...

Simple implements, trowel,

bucket, water

to keep the white beach sand

wet and mouldable.

Unconcerned about the crowd

of tourists and curious

passersby, he chiselled

a fine Last Supper, a muscular

bust of Christ, or a crucifix,

etched in block letters

at the base:

JESUS THANK YOU

Each dusk, with an odd mix

of loss and satisfaction

to watch the day’s work

swept away,

dissolved in the slow tide’s

gradual blessing.

~John Slater