The Poetry of Mark Daniel Milbocker 
Panning for Seaglass

Awakened in the flush of rushing sunbeams
warmth percolates beneath hot rain clouds,
don the swimshorts and photochromic shades
and hustle eastward to the junkyard strand
opulent with breezes and discarded kaleidoscopes
shimmering amidst the sugared sands,
fallen fruit confections, and lost waffle cones
how children love to dine in an evening
on the sacrifice of years only to trade
cockcomb for grayhair and a lack of respect
yet we are the seekers, the next
phalanx of the hungry eyeing the coffers
of cigarette butts and six-pack rings,
immortal sargassum hides humble seaglass
with the shining of juicyfruit wrappers
and shreds of advert-riddled paper
the confetti to our parade of dull choices
eschewing the sharp edges of the garish
for the spiral of seashells and
the mystery of skate eggs pulsing between the waves
let our passage not be hindered by surging slicks
or the entanglement of tar balls for
the weather is fair and free for the taking
so we borrow our own detritus back from the jeweler
and leave the platinum veins to the lunatic fringe.
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