This morning

Instead of playing in the shorebreak
I'm sitting on the porch
watching my breath

the long slow exhale
that is the fall
followed by
the empty pause
containing the entire universe
that is the heart of winter

Eventually the breath starts again
smooth and slow
as all life renews
cresting in the golden summer sunshine

if I had my druthers
I'd be in the shorebreak
but exhalation, like time and tide waits for no one