Rincon Point, Six A.M.
by Jonathan Yungkans
The sea tears out of its skin,
a Lazarus deshrouding,
navy against an orange
sunrise. Surfers play Jesus,
waiting for a wave to let
them walk on water. No one
talks—words hover like gulls, pick
away silence’s magic—
˖
so I say nothing and watch
their bobbing devotionals,
notice an imprint of huge
feathers in wet sand. Christmas
was last month. Easter’s three away.
So what’s an angel to do
with downtime except to lie
invisible on the sand,
˖
arching like a cat, a wave,
intending neither to leave
or stay, to leave or erase
its mark. The blueness reaches
deeper than bone or sea bed,
thicker than water, dredging
to leave what it can on shore
in a shush and quietude.
Previously published in MacQueen’s Quinterly, Issue 7 (Mar 2021).
PHOTO: Surfer at Rincon Point, California, sunrise. Photo by Atpfiz.
NOTE: Rincon is a surf spot located at the Ventura and Santa Barbara County line in Southern California. Also known as the “Queen of the Coast,” Rincon is one of the most famous surf spots in California, known around the world for its well-formed waves and long rides.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This was one of my pre-dawn road trips heading north—partly for photo ops, partly to snap myself out of despair. Rincon Point is just north of Ventura, California. Locals sometimes frequent it as an early-morning surf stop. It is literally off the beaten track—you drive under the freeway and across the railroad tracks to wind your way there.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jonathan Yungkans is a Los Angeles-based writer and photographer who earned an MFA from California State University, Long Beach, while working as an in-home health-care provider. His work has appeared in San Pedro Poetry Review, Synkroniciti, West Texas Literary Review, and other publications. His second poetry chapbook, Beneath a Glazed Shimmer, won the 2019 Clockwise Chapbook Prize and was published in February 2021 by Tebor Bach Publishing.
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