by Holly Day
the seagulls huddled on the beach, pressed together
seeking warmth from each other, the cold
of the corpses unearthed by the storm
was contagious. they swarmed over
the small bodies huddled just beneath the sand
noisy where they landed, brief gaps between white feathers
revealed fingers, a clenched fist
an arm exposed to the shoulder
a head of close-cropped blond hair.
the firemen came with hoses
the shrieks of angry birds could be heard
all the way down the beach.