D’s Bones

In the summer, when we camp
along the coast,
the girls find good and evil
in the way over the rocks.
Grogon’s Lagoon leads to the cave
of the Evil Witch, dripping and dark.
There, she raises a poisonous poppy,
which only looks like miner’s lettuce.
The Good Witch’s grotto is open and light,
and the girls say she has sea anemones
from the Mermaid’s Lagoon.

This place is more alive
than I’d known!

Years later, I can still feel the combination of being a watchful parent, while at the same time absorbing the sense of utter mystery present in childrens’ fantastical explorations of “good and evil.”