My three Brooklyn granddaughters
run with excitement
into the sunny blue ruffles
of late-summer sea water.

Wading out
while watching the ferry arrive
they suddenly sink
to the rocky-road bottom of
Oak Bluffs beach,
then bob up and down
up and down.

Finally feeling a swirling around their feet
greens tickling their arms
they rise
giggling
splishing and splashing
then laughing out loud,

as moving through
the lustrous late-day patterns
falling on the now silky red-illumined bay,
they see
against a pastry-like shoreline
of decorative Camp Ground cottages
arranged like Christmas cake
        next to cake,

two grand Park Slope fat cats
fresh off the ferry
furry long tails erect like candy canes
icing white on their elderly whiskers
who, when seeing the girls,
grin like Cheshires and
begin meowing and meowing
with booming measure:

“Well, here you are little lovelies;
we have missed you
loudly.”

Bobbi Gage Coogan
West Tisbury and Boston