WALKING IN NOANK

(two in their 70’s)

It was a somewhat easy walk, a stroll

up hills in early light with boats and sails

below us on the silent sea. Our goal

was to have fun, so all the roads were trails

to happiness. The ease with which we walked

was like the easiness of sails on the sea

when breezes lift them up. We smiled and talked,

but mostly we stayed in ourselves, as free

as birds that fly together but apart. Our love

lived in our silent walking and inside

the morning light, and all the sky above
seemed puffed and full, like sails far and wide.

"Noank from Mason's Island",
1917 oil by Reynolds Beal