The Forgotten Path
· by Roy Edlund
Found this weathered staircase tucked back in the dunes, on a pathway long since grown over.
At some point, somebody needed a way over the dune, so they built one. And I'm sure when it was built they figured these stairs would still be here long after they stopped climbing them.
I don't think they considered that the beach is relentless in reclaiming what is hers. Oh, she doesn't mind a staircase and she'll tolerate a footpath, a fence, a set of steps over her dune.
But she doesn't give anything away, and she never forgets what's hers. She got to work the moment they walked away, slow and patient as ever.
The blowing sand found the soft wood and wore it down, grain by grain, until the hard growth rings stood up off the boards like ribs. She crept back over the path a little more each season. She wasn't in a hurry. She didn't need to be.
That's where we are now. A forgotten staircase on an abandoned footpath, and the dune quietly taking back what is hers.
The dune was always going to be the dune again.
Love from here. ❤️
Prints of the photos in this post are available in the Beach Bum Gallery on paper, canvas and metal.