Titles by Kij Johnson are available for purchase online

Lincoln City, 1989

In the bright sun,
     I drink bottled water
          while watching the sea

sand fleas
     like tiny agile rocks

salt rime like threads—
     tide stitches sand

What I wrote in the sand
     is no less true for being erased

Do not think I have forgotten—
     the sea we would have watched together
          a cold reminder on my cheeks

To know the storm will end
     does not stop the boat from filling


© 1989 Kij Johnson