By: A.J. Huffman

I walk the tidal line on tired feet,
forced forward, mostly by determination.
The sand in my toes lends encouragement
with gentle tickle of coolness. Another mile
falls behind me. My breath begins to strain. The wind
responds, soothingly places its hand on my back.
Further still, I see a dolphin leap, then swim
at increased pace, racing the waves. It does not win,
pulls up short, leaps again at its own, unknown
victory. I smile, make note of my stopping
point. Tomorrow, I too will have something to celebrate.

******

[A.J. Huffman has published six solo chapbooks and one joint chapbook through various small presses.  Her seventh solo chapbook will be published in October by Writing Knights Press.  She is a Pushcart Prize nominee, and the winner of the 2012 Promise of Light Haiku Contest.  Her poetry, fiction, and haiku have appeared in hundreds of national and international journals, including Labletter, The James Dickey Review, Bone Orchard, EgoPHobia, Kritya, and Offerta Speciale, in which her work appeared in both English and Italian translation.  She is also the founding editor of Kind of a Hurricane Press.  www.kindofahurricanepress.com ]