In This One

by Kathryn Good-Schiff

You stand on the brink
of another adventure.
Mom is about to leave you
but it’s not camp this time— you’re 21,
on your own in Acadia National Park
ready to hike & sunburn
drink beer & chase ravens.
You’ve climbed beyond a railing
to the edge of a rock ledge, while she calls
Do you have to go out so far? then
Turn around so I can take your picture.
You always go to the limits of her sight.
She always tries to hold you with a photograph.
You wear a purple sleeveless shirt
jeans cut off at the knee
you stand in sandals on uneven rocks
special sticky rubber strapped to your feet
with green webbing.
Your left hand leans against the orange cliff—
arm outstretched, elbow slightly bent.
Your right hand rests on your hip.
Below you, the ocean pounds.