RED TIDE BLUES

Photo by Audrey Keel Photography

RED TIDE BLUES

Packed books grabbed the shoulder bag

With papers to grade and record

Straightened then erased the whiteboard

Got shooed out of my room 

By a teacher who knew

South Padre awaited our arrival.

South on I-35 for a half-hour drive

To give my husband a kiss

Tossing clothes, toothbrush, and suit in a bag 

Beach toys boarded the truck

We gave New Braunfels the wave

As we headed down to the beach.

Fighting off sleep after a long week

Pulling into Aries Drive at Padre

Once stepping afoot

Out in the night air

Took a breath, the coughing began

Then sneezing, our eyes tearing as well.

The luggage all stowed in the beach house

We heard a recital of tales

From grandchild to grandchild

From daughters and son

The stories lead us to conclude

The culprit of all our discomfort.

Fishbones poked and protruded

From their sandy grave

Others stank as they rotted

Not far from the shore

Red foam swelled up from the algae

Came and cut their lives short.

Surfers braving the roughest of surf

Driving for hours for the thrill

Riding wild waves in the wind

Best of conditions for saltwater cowboys

Riding astride, only to be tossed by red tide

For they hacked, and itched and retreated.

The grands undaunted marched through the dunes

Remembering sculptures of lore

Buckets held tight in their eager young hands 

Dared to walk the red-tinted land

Floating on boards though outnumbered they tried

But the red scourge drove them back home.

Weeks of plans and hopes for this outing

Though a family together is what mattered

The three who flew from the Rocky Mountains

Missed the balmy side of the isle

Instead of saltwater we played in a pool

As we all sang the red tide blues.

The photograph is an actual picture taken by my daughter, Audrey Keel, Audrey Keel Photography, early on Saturday morning during our weekend at South Padre Island during the terrible red tide.  October 2015