Down the Shore

Gloria Heffernan

Nobody in Jersey City goes to the beach.
They go       downtheshore.
One word; three syllables.
Synonymous with suntan lotion,
funnel cakes, and The Boss. 

Many towns but just one place.
One canvas painted in brilliant hues
of blue and white. A place of all-night
parties and the silent bloom of sunrise. 

Downtheshore
where I went that summer after graduation
and stood at the water’s edge
and felt the immensity of the ocean,
and understood my own insignificance. 

Downtheshore
where I floated out beyond
the boundaries of common sense
into an undertow so subtle
I had no idea it was pulling me
into that immensity. 

Downtheshore
where my feet lost touch with the sand
and I felt certain this was the end
until the lifeguard pulled me into his grasp,
positioned my hands on the tow rope
told me to go under as the waves
pounded over my head.

Downtheshore
where a crowd gathered to watch the rescue
cheered as I emerged shaking and dizzy,
and a brave young man slipped away
from the crowd before I could thank him
for saving my life.

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Gloria Heffernan
Gloria Heffernan is the author of four poetry collections, most recently Fused (Shanti Arts Publishing). Her craft book, Exploring Poetry of Presence (Back Porch Productions) won the CNY Book Award for Nonfiction. She received the 2022 Naugatuck River Review Narrative Poetry Prize. Gloria is the author of the collections Peregrinatio: Poems for Antarctica (Kelsay Books), and What the Gratitude List Said to the Bucket List, (New York Quarterly Books). Her forthcoming collection, Moments of Color and Cloud will be published by Shanti Arts in 2026.