august 1965

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We were the kings and queens
of Belmar beach, from 15th avenue to 25th
Called by summer’s high holy days
and the sea’s green bells—
we shed childhood’s clothing and stepped
into adolescence’s secret skin,
our bodies alive with heat
and not a care about what others thought or said—
who we were or what was yet to come.
We stood in the forever day and open sky
our faces turned to worship the not yet weary sun.
Our desire’s pulse found
under the ocean’s August moon.
Certain we would live for 1,000 years.