Observations from Oceanside, California

The beach is nearly deserted. Sandpipers scuttle, then stab the wet sand with beaks. A jogger appears then disappears into a mirage rising off the strand. The day smells industrial. A power plant to the south sends black plumes out of its tower. A man paddles a boogie board through the shallows. Offshore, a gray destroyer treads water.  It seems as harmless as a bathtub toy. The war is a distant thing where men, women and children die beyond the bent horizon.