08/05/2025
CALIFORNIA COVE
(for the families they try to break)
In search of stillness we wandered
Up the Central Coast of California
and it was sunny.
Peaceful.
Glorious.
It was a much-needed respite
from the chaos and brutality
that we had seen in California for weeks.
As we stopped at one of the many lookout points,
there we found a trail
that led to a small cove.
The gentle breeze
and the scent of coyote brush
beckoned us closer
to a hidden cove.
At that cove
we saw a family.
They were young.
Latino.
A mother and a father,
and their three children.
The two eldest,
a boy and a girl,
were running around on the beach
chasing each other
splashing in and out of the water.
There was laughter.
The sound of waves
gently crashing on the sand.
The father,
with his pant legs slightly rolled up,
was standing a few feet into the water
holding a fishing rod.
Occasionally
he would look back
toward his frolicking children
and smile.
A slight bit further down the beach,
the mother was sitting on the sand
with their youngest child,
a toddler boy
who was very busy
digging holes
and filling buckets with sand.
And as the afternoon sun
kissed their copper skin,
I stood there
watching this magical moment
and I felt it all.
Love.
Joy.
Heartbreak.
Longing.
I felt it all.
Because more than anything,
I wished
that all families
could be protected
by such natural magic
as this California cove.
-Marisol Tena
August 4th, 2025
