Playboy

A small dog on the beach, the long, deserted beach of Neptune Place, where thick flat rocks lie buried in the sand, tossed ashore, abandoned sculpture from an unknown island. The wind has driven bathers from the surf, from the sand bank, from the porches of homes along the street, and the small dog runs in perfect freedom down the hard-packed sand. He chases seagulls and curlews and sandpipers, barking and grinning, showing off his vibrant, frantic body to the waves, wheeling from one shrill-voiced bird to another, like a man with many loves.