Your prose was poetic, per usual, propelling us along in the high grass and propping us up in a tall beautiful stack of driftwood; with logs from Canada and China glistening in the still water of that cove. Here are the poetics that emerged:

Driftwood Lettering

There may be no better way
to begin the first day
of the new year than with a walk
through a wilderness area.

Any happy, alcohol-induced fog
from the previous, festive night
was quickly escorted into the ether
as fresh, ionized air surrounded my senses.

Okay, fresh, strong coffee got there first.
But once afoot, the joy of
this stunning solitude took hold,

Turning one’s head down and to the right,
here’s the clear water at the shore.
The beach is lined– as all here are–
with the area’s history spelled out
in driftwood lettering.

Alex Shapiro