I remember walking along the seashore as a child, collecting shells in a bucket, like tiny treasures washed in by the sea. In later years, I took my children to the beach and made lasting memories of days spent playing in the sand and the water.  Even now, thinking back on these carefree days, I can feel the sun on my face, smell the saltiness of the sea, hear the gulls calling out above me. Though the tide changes and seasons come and go, this vision of days spent at the seashore are a place that I return to in my memories time and time again.

Carefree Days
By Krista Longeway

I walk the shore on a warm summer day,
Searching for small shells washed in by the sea.
My face is warmed by the sun’s cheerful rays,
Bare feet sink into the sand beneath me.

I stand by the water, out of tide’s reach,
And watch water swell, then roll to the shore.
The waves gently washing over the beach,
Smooth sand now where there were footprints before.

A cooling breeze blows in off the water,
Air thick with the salty smell of the sea.
It carries the sound of children’s laughter,
And playfully blows the leaves on the tree.

Above, distant voices of gulls call out,
As they glide through the air on outstretched wings.
In a cloudless sky, they circle about,
Lazily searching the tide’s offerings.

Though the tide changes and seasons have past, 
Gulls scatter and sandcastles melt in rain,
This memory of carefree days will last,
And I come back here again and again.