Welcome to Sea Isle!
 

A traveled dirt road had stood here for years,
It led to the beach and then disappeared.
The traffic was light, an occasional car
Traded the city for the ocean and stars.
Just on the edge of the small seaside town
A new welcome sign was put in the ground.
It saw loud, screaming children approaching the beach
And their frustrated parents, relief within reach. 
"Welcome to Sea Isle!" yelled out the new sign.
But as they drove by, it could not look behind. 
“What were they seeing, a boat painted red?"
Wondered the sign, as it stared straight ahead.
"Were there swimmers and surfers and castles of sand?
Lifeguards with whistles keeping watch on their stand?
Did children have bikes that they rode through the town?
Oh, I'll never know, cause I can't turn around!"
 

As the weather grew colder, the car traffic slowed. 
The leaves changed their shade, then fell as it snowed. 
The welcome sign stared down the white, empty street,
And grew lonely and bored with no one there to greet. 
Just as it thought that no car would show,
A red truck approached and trudged through the snow. 
It inched closer and closer, then stopped on a dime. 
A young man got out and pulled out a sign. 
He crossed the white road and put in the ground,
A message for guests on their way out of town. 
"Thank you for coming!" the exit sign said,
To the man as he left in his truck, colored red. 
"Welcome to Sea Isle!  The Shore Place to Be!"
The welcome sign said to his friend 'cross the street. 
"Thank you so much!  I'm glad to have come!"
The exit sign said, as the two became chums. 
 

For the next couple months, they chatted away. 
They talked and they laughed through the cold winter days. 
The welcome sign told of the rides it had seen
From little blue bikes to vans painted green. 
The exit sign too shared the things that it saw,
Like the snow on the beach beginning to thaw. 
"What is the town like?" the welcome sign asked. 
"Are there diners and gift shops with folks walking past?"
"There is an old diner! A grand place to eat!"
The exit sign answered. "It's right on Main Street!
Just a block from the beach, the diner door stands,
With a view of the shore and the trees in the sand.
As for the people, a few trickle by.
They visit the shops when it's not cold outside."
The welcome sign smiled, for it knew guests would swarm.
"They will flock here in droves when the weather is warm!"
 

And come, people did! As summer grew near,
Cars flew by the sign, even more than last year. 
The beaches filled up, the diner was packed
With children and parents so thrilled to be back. 
The welcome sign greeted each incoming car,
Then heard its friend tell all their tales from afar. 
From games on the beach to waves kids would climb,
They all seemed to have the most wonderful time. 
The stories continued each summer to fall,
They laughed through the winters at all that they saw. 
The beach town grew larger by every year’s end.
The exit sign told of each change to its friend. 
New shops opened up and the dirt road was paved, 
Huge houses were built and more kids surfed the waves. 
Through all of the changes, two constants remained,
The signs on the road and the diner on Main. 
 

But the signs both got older, rust covered their rims. 
They still greeted the guests, but their vision grew dim. 
The exit sign's tales of the town were no more. 
For it couldn’t see out to the shops and the shore. 
They sat there in silence, two signs unaware.
Their laughter was gone with no stories to share.
But one warm summer day, they heard a loud “murr.”
The welcome sign squinted and saw a red blur.
A red truck approached and stopped on a dime,
And out stepped the same man who'd planted the signs.
He picked them both up and drove them down Main.
On the door of the diner, the signs now remained.
“Welcome to Sea Isle!” one yelled down the street,
While the other sign thanked those who’d come here to eat.
They laughed as they watched all the games on the shore,
And then told countless tales from their perch on the door.