A Child Of Summer

She stood ankle deep in swirling water
Holding her skirt above her knees
Exposing the soft brownish tan of early summer
Bending slightly, her slender frame
She reached for a floating starfish in the waves

Her hair fell from her shoulders, as she bent,
Dangling in long curls that teased
Catching the eye of others on the beach that day
She spoke to no one, and no one knew her name,
No facts were known of her then

Each day she came to the waves
Drawn like a tide to the seas
She would run in and out of shore
Holding her skirt high all the same
And shying away from the crowds

Some said she was orphaned early
Left floating on the angry seas
And searched daily for the pirate,
The one that surely carried the blame,
Though what her course might be was unknown

I never thought of her that way, no, not at all
She was just a child running to the sea
Lying in the waves and chasing her laughter
In some mad childish water game
She was no sea nymph or mysterious dame

She was but a child who stood ankle deep in water
Holding her skirts above her knees
Exposing the soft brownish tan of early summer
And inviting tales of mystery about her name
A child of summer and sea,
That once was me.