RIP tide

Tennessee Valley has a narrow beach
Tide comes in fast and you're trapped
I'll wade into that, should be easy enough
Clothes are still agitating in the washer
Husband home building a hopeful fence
I run tear-blind down the beach trail
Sharp blue April sky
I can't see the sand for the families parked on blankets
Shit, why did I picture the place deserted?
One of them won't just watch me go out
The hero of the crowd will swim after me
I'm holding my phone anyway
The real student of death would have thrown it into the water
But I must care enough to hold on
Time to load the dryer.