Art on the Sand

I walked along the beach
Slowly
Leisurely
The waves washing softly over my feet
And up ahead
I saw a man
Drawing on the sand
A gorgeous piece of art
Almost complete
How long he had been at it
I had no idea
But as I came nearer
I saw
From the corner of my eye
A wave
Bigger than the others
A lone rebel
Racing forward towards him
Trying to go
Where none of the other waves would
And I wanted to shout
Call out to the man
Warn him of the incoming stream
The impending fate
That would destroy his art
But the words remained unspoken
Maybe there wasn't enough time to react
Because even if I had
What would it have done
He could no more move his art
Than he could stop the incoming wave
And so
In that split second
I watched
As the wave hit its target
Washing over the creases in the sand
Taking away pieces
That it claimed for itself
And all that remained
Was incomplete parts
Of a missing whole
The art destroyed
The labour made futile
I looked at the man
Grimacing
Wanting to share his pain
But instead
He looked at me
Smiled
And shrugged
And went back to his work
Recreating what was gone
Perhaps not for the first time
Accepting
What I couldn't
That this was life
His job
Was to persevere
Regardless of the outcome
Regardless of how long it lasted
That the fear of the future
Couldn't overshadow
The joy of the present
That all he had
Was his passion
And this moment
Everything else
The future
The outcome
Were like the waves
Weaving their own path
Unstoppable
Like a destiny
Beyond his control.