2 poems

by Peter Hamlin

the foam

at Imperial Beach

I walked back from the end of the wooden pier
watching a wave run gently below
I saw that
the waves are not water
they are the waves, and the water is a medium
until they break and they are both foam
somersaulting into the sand

Reaching the sand I looked back and could see only the foam

summer

You do not have to remember 

the soft itch of summer

backlit by the workday and the roaches

you stomped

back again from winter

their lives as large

as fragile

the stroke of a lover and the still

sweat of the bed

the fan in the heat

You do not have to remember

the way your life 

goes and turns around

the soles overhead, stomping

the stroke of a lover

Peter Hamlin is a writer, artist, and engineer. His work ranges from poetry to mixed media kinetic art. He is currently based in San Diego, California. You can find him on Instagram @peter.hamlin.