An Evening at Inch Strand Beach Just Outside Dingle, Ireland
by Emilee Kinney
Runestone, volume 5
Runestone, volume 5
An Evening at Inch Strand Beach Just Outside Dingle, Ireland
by Emilee Kinney
CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO READ POEM (IMAGE) AND FLIP PHONE TO LANDSCAPE
Across the sunlit-stained shores,
the ocean owns everything
up to mountains that poke
at low-hanging clouds
and dress in mist.
Atlantic waves lap
at their feet like white-capped canines.
I stand amongst discarded seaweed
entangled within itself—dark and wet
like dead fish spit-up from the sea.
Back home, they warn
of jelly fish hiding
in the sand at night—
the only catch
in an otherwise paradise
where beaches neighbor balconied
towers with too-large umbrella decor.
Here, they only warn of hill-folk
that could steal you in the night. Here,
the sun is still staining my skin
and the sky a deep pink. Here, beaches
neighbor mountains that breathe
salt and cowhide. It’s not yet night:
I kneel to sand-crusted seaweed,
fingers reaching for life hidden
beneath. Thick decay lifted,
tiny shells poke out of the strand,
their rough grains winking
under a fading sun. Before I tuck
them away, I bring them close
to my face and wonder if I dressed
in mist and sand, could I make my home
a land that breathes again?
Emilee Kinney
Albion College
Emilee Kinney is a senior at Albion College, pursuing a double major in creative writing and history. She’s a member of Sigma Tau Delta, the Chevron Chapter of Mortar Board, and Omicron Delta Kappa. She is the 2018/19 Co-Editor-In-Chief of The Albion Review and on the women’s track team. After graduation, Emilee plans to pursue an MFA in poetry to later become a professor of creative writing. From Emmett, Michigan, she can be found with her horses, with a book, or in the water.