ECHOES OVER THE LINE

 

Echoes Over the Line

The Pacific at Dawn

My eyes drink in the miles of black-sand beaches,

where the Pacific unfurls, restless and vast,

waves curling like eager fingers toward the shore.

The air hangs heavy with salt and sunrise,

a wild tang that seeps into my pores,

while light splinters across the water,

turning the sea into a mosaic of shattered glass.

Gulls wheel overhead, their cries slicing the hush,

and the sand lies cool, dark, a velvet stretch

beneath my bare feet—

details I hoard like polished stones,

aching to spill them into words for you.

The Warmth of You

Wanting no more than that warmth in your voice,

the way your hello blooms through the wire,

a soft ember against the chill of distance.

It’s the jackpot I chase,

a prize that outshines the clamor of the world—

planes snarling, strangers’ footsteps thudding past—

all drowned by the steady pulse of your breath,

a tether pulling me close

when the miles stretch taut between us.

Your tone wraps me like a shawl,

and I’m lost to it,

every other sound fading to a murmur.

Coins in the Slot

Quarters, slipped into the airport payphone’s maw,

clink like coins in a gambler’s desperate toss—

each one a wager, a plea to the fates,

hoping the line crackles to life.

The booth is a relic,

its metal scarred, its cord a lifeline,

and I stand there,

fingers tracing the edge of the receiver,

betting on the roll of luck

that brings you to me.

It’s a slot machine that pays in echoes,

and when it does,

your voice is the win I’d trade all else to claim.

A Shared Horizon

Hopeful, I imagine you sketching it out—

the black sand glinting under a rising sun,

the ocean’s shimmer, the sky’s tender blush—

pictures drawn in the quiet of your mind.

Maybe you’ll catch the breeze’s whisper,

taste the salt lingering on the wind,

and for a fleeting breath,

the distance will collapse,

the miles melt away,

placing you here beside me

in the glow of this fragile dawn.

Until then, it’s just these words,

this voice across the wire,

bridging the space

with the promise of a closeness

we both strain to hold.