Peaceful sun-kissed
Surface
Shining sparkling
Mirror
Scratching scraping
Reflect
You calm
You thrash what you’ve calmed
You ebb
You flow when you’ve ebbed
You give
You take what you give
You come
You go when you’ve come
You promise
You betray what you promise
You beckon
You banish when you beckon
Break the surface
Belies
Sinister underbelly
Current
Undertow pulls under
Drowns
This is dedicated to the residents of Plum Island who just lost homes.
This is dedicated to the residents of Plum Island who just lost homes.
How evocative. Love the imagery!
ReplyDeleteLovely poem. I like how the very structure of the poem's lines ebb and flow. Cool!
ReplyDeleteNice! That's the frightening power of the ocean.
ReplyDeleteLoved this poem. I could visualize and imagine!
ReplyDeleteAll the best!
Your words drawn in with the tide and recede like the waves. What an awesome poem. So beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOh my, I was drawn into that poem immediately, and then when I read it was for the people on Plum Island, I just melted. Plum Island was part of my childhood. I hope the residents recover.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. And timely with all the images we're seeing of the Eastern coastline lately.
ReplyDeletePoignant. Hope those who suffered at Plum Island recover their lives soon.
ReplyDeleteDamyanti
Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2013
Plum Island? Oh no, what happened?!?! :-(
ReplyDeleteTake care
x
Old Kitty, Plum Island is off the coast of northern Massachusetts. Between Hurricane Sandy, last month's blizzard, and Friday's snow, 50 ft of dune disappeared. After the storm, it was high tide and 3 houses came down.
DeleteHi Theresa .. I'm so glad Old Kitty asked - I thought it was in the Aleutian Islands ... I hadn't heard about the dune slip - precarious lives we lead ...
ReplyDeleteI too hope that the residents can recoup and recover ... yet your poem evokes the power of the waves, the winds and the oceans - nature is greater than us ...
My thoughts to their families ... Hilary
Hilary, it was surreal to watch the house come down on Saturday. It was sunny and warm, yet the tide was still high and the damage to the foundation had been done. So when I saw this picture prompt, I thought of how water can be both beautiful and terrible, just like people.
DeleteLove the photo and the poem. You captured the beauty and the vengeance of the ocean perfectly.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts are with all the Plum Island families...thanks, as always, for sharing with us.
I love reading about the sea, Theresa! Even if this one had a bitter ending... reminds me of the book The Summer of Skinny Dipping. I cried for hours after I finished reading that one!
ReplyDeleteYes, the sea can be such a study in opposites ... so benign on a sunny summer day with calm winds and such a relentless forcewhen the tide is up and the storm is howling ... so sorry to hear of the beach and home losses on Plum Island ... those shifting sands on barrier islands suffer so - it's heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteI love your poetry, Theresa.
ReplyDeleteOh beckon conjured images of Captain Ahab...
ReplyDeleteI love water, but it can surely do some damage.
ReplyDelete"/
Beautiful poem.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about what's happening on Plum Island. I love the water and think it's magical living by it, but it can be treacherous.
I'm quite terrified of the ocean. I almost drowned once, and I can't shake the fear.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem, although sad about Plum Island. The photo makes me long for summer!
ReplyDeleteSusanna, I just saw your post about the five-year-old boy with epilepsy. I shared your post on a Facebook writing group and on my Facebook page. I'm also going to share it on Twitter.
Deleteand i just got done reading about the fact that we never see what our face really looks like, we only see ourselves reflected in mirrors and lakes and video recordings...it is quite strange and eerie the more you think about it...
ReplyDeleteThanks for your replies (above) re queries of Plum Island - oh the awful power of that beautiful ocean.
ReplyDelete'So when I saw this picture prompt, I thought of how water can be both beautiful and terrible, just like people.'
How true this is and your descriptive poetry told this well.
Anna :o]
Yes the sea is both beautiful and fierce....
ReplyDeleteThis is gripping, pal. Very profound. And insightful. It is tragic what happened. All that snow and water and just tragic. The homes slipping. Falling. I love the ocean. I mean being from the ocean, the Keys. But I respect its power. I can't wait to go back this summer. YaY. I miss my Lake Surprise!
ReplyDeleteSuper writing my poet pal. :-)
I'm sorry about the people who lost their homes. That would definitely be traumatic. And these lines are very vivid; they definitely speak to people's fears and doubts, but they also show what can happen when people think everything will be okay and then it turns out to be the complete opposite.
ReplyDeletethis is beautiful if painful, well done
ReplyDeleteJust like the sea...
ReplyDelete