we were a murmur conglomerate,
our hum-talk bumbling into a funnel.

waves tumble through the streets;
pearls are words beached in their wake.

pick up a shell, what does it say?
plunge into the vortex, where does it go?

the boardwalk strip pumps pamphlets
we are too weak to resist.

we stand around breathing the same air,
opening and closing our mouths like clams.

stale air and choppy waters 
reek of death

but people plummet into both,
baptized in the dark green algae.

wade in enough to weigh the undercurrent:
strong as a moon beam,

slicing night with an exacto knife.
do you tumble into the tide?