Emily as the Harbor Knows

by Darren C. Demaree

The boats are empty.

The birds have taken

flight.

Emily is alone

on the sand. The sea

crinkles towards her.

This used to be

an economy. Now,

I take pictures of her

for my collection.

Nobody

is getting rich

& nobody gets to have

the girl.

Every day she picks

a new man. It's been me

for a while now.

I am called

the only capitalist

in this town

because of that.

These simple men never

believe

a woman

can be

a dictator of sorts.

I know I am poor.

I know she is the currency,

the government

& the church in total.

They must think each touch

from her is wealth.

It's something like that,

but you can't keep

joy on a cliff

long enough

without knowing gravity.

You cannot collect the shell

of an ecstatic.

Something that beautiful,

that moves like that,

was never in a shell.