From the Sea She Comes...

 From the Sea She Comes...
by Arlene Levin
(c) 2023

I don’t know why she keeps falling off the shelf where she sits.

It’s like she’s saying “Remember me.”

Once again I pick her up from my bedroom floor.

Looking at her nestled safe in my hand

I recall the day I fished her out of the ocean.

A warm Miami morning in January, 

I remember walking into the gentle surf.

Each wave drew her closer until

my outstretched hand finally reached her.

“Look at the style of her dress and hat and bobbed hair.

She’s from another time” I mused.

In the water for years 

gone is the paint that dressed 

her hard plastic body. 

Her hat is missing a piece of the brim.

The back of her head is missing too

but you can’t see that from the front.

My little carnival doll has the sweetest expression.

Her arms are outstretched in an undeniably jubilant greeting.

From the sea she comes to me worn and chipped

but her spirit is untouched for she always makes me smile.