coastal

she bobs across the city
on the morning rush tide
like cork on water

always on a high
bounce, oxygen-fresh
muscles to go

if you asked her
how she was feeling
she’d shout you champagne

orange juice and ice
with compassion like this
her enemies dissolve

she’s fizz, flotsam
head above the surges
of water-mad workers

jealous of her freedom
waves of strangers
confront her future

if she’s wise
she’ll duck-dive
why waste explanations

on signs and billboards
female nudes fish for her
dollars—she won't buy it

dipping a toe
outside at lunch
she tests the temperature

hot end-of-month sales
hot-for-her offers
it’s hard to stay cool

in a moving waterway
of exceptionally-today
young

she’s up to her pecs
cool coastal
picking off the predators