I was that kid on the beach
with a plastic bucket and shovel,
guarding the hole
I dug in the sand.
If you were a girl back then,
no matter how cute,
I wouldn’t have let you build sandcastles
with me.
I would have said no,
worried what the other boys
might think,
not realizing that you could
have been the sand princess
that I’d be searching for,
the rest of my life.
First published in Literary Yard.
Crow On The Wire 
A sand princess might be a tad on the quiet side!
true, JT. 🙂
A perfect poem, which resonates beyond the little poem with the little boy with the plastic bucket.
yes, Liz, we all have our share of missed opportunities.
I like this 👍
Thanks,
thank you for the memories this evoked!
You’re welcome, Wendi. 🙂🙂
Awesome.
Thank you, Ancient Skies.
🙂 You can call me Nico or Nicodemas.
Will do, Nico.
Probably just as well that we don’t know the outcome of our actions at the time, as I think we would get in one hell of a muddle!
Well put, and so true. Anita.
Great poem! I always loved building sandcastles! I especially liked building a moat and then making a little ‘river’ down to the water. The ending of your poem is grand. I like the thought of sand princesses passing by, unobserved by you, too busy creating your sand sculptures!
Thanks, Linda. I enjoyed building structures in the sand. Mine were more like condominiums than castles. 🙂🙂
🙂 🙂 🙂
love this, love the ending and the wonderful illustration; which came first? the picture or the poem?
The poem, John. I live in a beach town so I get a variety of pics here.
OMG, Mark!!! What an Awesome love poem!! So romantic, insightful and full of wistful wondering!! Please be sure to add this to “Mark’s Best Of” list!! Bellissimo, My Friend, Bellissimo!!
I appreciate it, RR. Will do.
Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet and commented:
Don’t Miss Mark’s great romantic poem
A real young guy’s attitude. LOL!
totally. 🙂
Very nice! I saw those boys growing up. I guess I wasn’t their Sand Princess.
Maybe you’ll find yourself a Sand Prince, Theresa.
Just remember you might have been her prince, or she’ll grab your bucket so you would chase after her. ❤
Oh, yeah. I would have liked that.
That’s what I thought. I bet you had a different color bucket for every day of the week.
No I wasn’t that privileged, Hope. I only had three buckets. 😎
So beautiful
Appreciate your kind words, Laura.
Very poignant and I identify with that, too.
Thank you, RC.
Love this 😊💖
Thank you, Krishna. 🙏🏻
Always welcome 😊
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Thank you.
Nice😊
Thank you, Sweetu
So many boys don’t realize what they let pass them by.
They sure do.
But, concentration is important when it comes to art.
It’s a beautiful poem
Thank you, Kajai. 🙂