Title: Instamatics 5/6/00 1/1, #14
Guest Author: kimberlite
Archive: Please ask.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Todd Haynes, Miramax, etc.
Feedback: Please, to kimberlite@cox.net
Notes: Many thanks to Alex for all her encouragement and for letting me frolic in her playground.

A sandcastle. I shake my head and laugh as I drop to my knees, helping Brian begin construction on this latest project. Even on vacation he has to be creative.

I feel the warm rays of the sun on my bare back, absorbing the comforting heat just as I relish the warmth of Brian's shining presence next to me. In such a short time he has changed my world, given me light and color and love.

Soon our castle rises proudly from the beach, millions of grains of sand, insignificant individually, together forming a graceful structure.

The tide is rising, waves reaching ever higher, water filling the moat. At this moment everything is perfect. Brian holds me close, kissing the salt-spray from my lips, innocently delighted in our creation.

I stand there, looking into the vast ocean, seeing the immense power beneath the glassy-smooth surface. The waves are licking at the base of the castle now, carefully eroding it, grain by grain. As I watch, the water undercuts the castle and it slumps downward.

In our lives and our music, we are creating beauty, Brian and I. Perhaps it will be as ephemeral as the sandcastle, but no less gorgeous for its transience.