There Is a Child in the Sea

by Jane Yolen

There is a child in the sea,

his mouth the color

of the top of a wave.

The tide is no salvation.

It laps him, slips him

Into infinity.

His parents claim the new shore,

curse the dark crossing.

His clothing weeps.

* * * * *

Jane Yolen's book count is 382—the majority of them children's books, 10 books of adult poems, plus adult novels (fantasy and historical), nonfiction and memoirs. Twelve music books and 2 cookbooks, and . . . she has a low threshold of boredom. She has written a poem a day for the past seven years. Six colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates for her work. www.janeyolen.com