Vamos a la Playa

Mamá puts a straw hat on my head, drags
sunscreen across my cheeks and nose, opens
the front door for sound to flood:
a tide, a distant rumble.

Salt-infused air scented
with the smell of bakery 
bread and SPF 50+ sunscreen. 
Wet sand and wet toes; ghostly
perfume of the sea tickling
my nose, conquered by pecas.

Mamá’s cool hand grips 
mine as we cross the road.
Mamá’s dress flows with every step
dancing with the air.
Mamá is a ballerina
rushing across a stage.
My feet, in pink Hello Kitty
sandals, drum in time 
on the concrete beside her.

The trees that line the road
are big yellow brushstrokes.
I turn around 
see the avenue rumbling
under the sound of cars, or

is it the sea?

We hurry down a maze of stairs
little feet tiptoeing down
little feet crawling up.
Mamá drags me by my arm 
Ya no queda nada

The sun glares, the wind sings,
and with it come the seagulls,
the reds and yellows and pinks
of beach umbrellas, the waves
and sun-kissed children eating palmeras 
heads popping from the water
like balloons, like medusas, drifting 
in slow motion.

The sand burns my toes 
I try to run away 
in vain.
The water kisses my feet,
only to then leave me, the sand,
tiny pieces of seashells
stranded at my feet, lines 
drawn by the tide, a small 
plastic shovel looking out of place,
only to return. and wash 
and erase, and leave again.
Mamá explains:
va y viene 
it comes and goes.

*

Glossary

Vamos a la playa: Let’s go to the beach (A common nursery rhyme derived from a popular 80’s song of the same name by Righeira)

Pecas: freckles 

Ya no queda nada: We’re almost there

Palmeras: a classic Chilean beach sweet made of puff pastry with honey or sugar to give it that sweet touch and crunchiness when you taste them. It is a huge dough circle; bigger than an adult hand and tastier when fresh and crunchy

Medusas: jellyfish

Illustration by Garreth Chan