She looked back at me

She looked back at me
like a camera,
an eye
with a singular vision,

pretty on the beach
in artificial light

The pier crawled out
into the water
like a centipede
while she stood
motionless
in the waves,
     an object
          that dangled
     unhindered
from an invisible string     but

she never moved     an inch

She complained

about the sun
burning her

then the water
was too wet

even when the shadows
encroached upon her     artificial light
she stood

while the ocean decided
to subtract the sand from
beneath her feet

The horizon cut across in a confident headline,
it had a mind of its own
everything
had a mind
of its own,
everything
but the girl

I set the shutter speed
before the legs of the pier
trampled over her spine

Candy R. Wei