Andres Segovia

by Philip Vassallo

Standing at the shoreline
we feel the undertow
on our bare feet
pushing back and pulling forward,
running through the lifelines on our soles,
leaving a layered impact
like a vibrating guitar string.
How often has this beach
taken new shapes
with chords the master plucked from air?
When he was born ninety-four years ago
this ocean was still learning to meet land,
little more than rain.
And now we hear Chaccone,
Don't you feel the tide stop?

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