We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

It was dark when we woke and Frank left on business and I waited for the sun to rise and went out onto the wide expanse of sand and saw the driftwood on the canvas of beach. I passed the enchanted chairs, except there were only two of them today, facing the Gulf in their wooden windswept way. I walked into the sun rising in a warm breeze and there were not many of us yet. Into the new day it was three miles before I thought of turning around, heading home. Then, a funny seaweed person in the sand caught my eye. I took his picture and realized it’s not a him, it’s a her, it’s a me in my stetson, walking this sweet beach in my seaswept skin, whisping along the sand. Later, searching for seaweedy poems, I found a wonderful place: The Public Domain Review, and there I found some seaweed images from the Victorian era, like the one of a house below, framed in a doily, and it made me happy to see this silly playfulness after having found my own intact and wholly made by the sea and some surf. What a lovely day I had, meeting with writers in the morning and evening online, including the monologue writers tonight who have so many voices that want to be heard. I thought about my new “found” poem, the one I made from my mother’s letter and shared in my poetry workshop last night, exploring what this project means, what I might do with it, whether I should do it, what right have I to do it? And on the beach I found some answers to my questions, and the answers say, this is who I am and what I do.

Founded in 2011, The Public Domain Review is an online journal and not-for-profit project dedicated to the exploration of curious and compelling works from the history of art, literature, and ideas.