浜辺の散策

今日は朝から、浜辺をのんびり歩いてきました。

子どものころは、浜辺の石の上をポンポンと軽やかに歩いていたはずなのに、そんな思い出は少し甘かったようです。やはり歳には勝てません。

それでも昔を思い出しながらゆっくり歩いていると、心地よい潮風が頬をそっと吹き抜けていきます。

ふと目を上げると、一面に咲くハマヒルガオが迎えてくれました。

誰にも気づかれず、少し寂しそうにも見えますが、波にも潮風にも負けず、今日も懸命に花を咲かせています。

「こんなに咲いて　まださびしいか　浜昼顔」

その花を眺めながら、静かな浜辺を歩く時間もまた、

島からの贈り物なのだと感じます。

A Walk Along the Shore

This morning, I set out for a leisurely walk along the beach.

When I was a child, I could skip lightly from one seaside rock to another.
Perhaps that memory was a little too optimistic—time has a way of reminding us that we are no longer young.

Still, as I walked slowly, recalling those days,
a gentle sea breeze brushed across my face.

Then, before me, stretched a carpet of beach morning glories, blooming in abundance.

They seemed a little lonely, with no one to admire them,
yet they continued to bloom bravely, undaunted by the waves and the salty wind.

So many blossoms,
and still so lonely—
beach morning glory.

As I stood there, I realized that even a quiet walk along the shore can become one of the island’s greatest gifts.