A Different Kind Of Speaking

Their family arrived home
from weeks away, carried 
as a wave of the sea.
Rising from the car’s horizon,
splashing up the stairs,
crashing through the front door,
children spilled out
onto the floor. Parents, 
wet with weariness,
and packed bags soaked 
with dirty clothes 
surged into the kitchen
and back.
The water receded slowly,
and when it was gone
it left only a scattering of sand, 
a thin layer of foam,
and a momentary quiet
enough to believe
they were safely ashore.