Jekyll Island Afternoon, by Joseph Milford

Joseph Milford
JEKYLL ISLAND AFTERNOON

There is a siesta for some of us.

A child with a mangled hand throws a stone into the ocean.

I came here to understand painters.

I came here to learn semiotics from the surf.

This is salt in the eye and sand in the ears.

As if preparing the body for the eventual putrefaction.

If I could paint I would paint the world around his hand.

Of course, he would throw a stone at me

and laugh in the sun.