Somewhere

hidden 

within hidings of

reef and fluttering weeds and abalone

her hopes tremble a little 

so…she digs her feet

into the sand,

faces 

the wind and 

waits 

for her bangs to float above the breeze

listens to a seashell 

til

the storm blows over and she remembers

 she doesn’t have to

wait anymore

for someone else

to call her a

pearl

because

she already 

did