Falling Into the Sea

Cracks form, then enlarge,
creating gapping crevasses
where the road once ran.
Houses overlooking the sea

become overhanging cliffs
threatening to fall
with the next earth movement.
Homeowners must decide,

to buffer their homes
with steel support beams
or give up and abandon
their beach view dream.

Remnants of other neighborhoods
can be found along the seashore
washed away with each new storm
but like coastlines everywhere

the waves eventually pound the sand
sufficiently to force it to give up
and grain by gain it falls into the sea.
The people who live along the coastline

know the arrangement is temporary
and like one owner said, “Everyday
by the sea is worth whatever
the cost is to me.”