On the shore,
I stared, facing west
As you erased the sand
Away from under my heals
And I lost my balance
Falling backwards
To the ground
I jumped rope
With seaweed grass
You spat out to dry upon
The shore, and yelled, yee hah!
Whipping and whirling the strand
Snapping in the air, it wrapped
My ankle, black and blue
Bruised, I fell, laughing,
Your mouth cooled
For an eternity
You came and went
Raging against the rocks
Sending your frothing spittle
High into the air, mist covering
My face, I smiled as the sun
Burned colors in clouds
Pink, orange, golden
Sunk away now
I’d take you
Willingly watch your
Rages, comings and goings
If you’d soften my hard edges
Make me forget the ground
Winds caressing once
Rocks now sand
I’d take you
33 comments:
Ah Cat
I hear such emotion and depth here ...and willingness to be . Well done
Linda
the comparison between the rocks and the soul, outstanding!
I feel like rocks and sand...but don't really know how they 'feel'...or if.
Yee Hah! Love it ... love it ... love it.
Loved the structure too. :D
Nice little pointy rock shaped words. Though this one kinda made me miss Sarah. That lady has stranded us. It seems sort of her kinda poem. The warmth in the words is touching.
One can not touch you in poetry. You are way up there. Oh may be some can. Certainly not me. :)
nice one!
Wow. An intense portrait of the sea. And, perhaps, an intense portrait of the person who might harken those vast horizons in you.
This is immensely intense! Loved it! Keep writing!
Ah Linda-the sea, the sea! :-)
Shadow- you got it, yes you did. Thanks!
Steve- Don't know IF they feel either, but I know I feel like rocks and sand, sometimes too much!
Aniket- Yee hah! Thanks my cheeky friend. I know what you mean re: Sarah. I think she's on a little vacation though, and I'm sure she'll be back soon. She is an inspiration, that girl.
Gledwood-So great to see you!
Jason- A portrait of the sea and the soul. To give credit where credit is due, I've been lost in writer's block for a while, but your post today opened the gates.
Also to credit Christopher for one of his inspiring posts a few days ago on the raging, and Joaquin, who got me started with the feet in the sand thing. He must have gone and done my bidding because suddenly I was there. (Thanks Joaquin, from afar).
Bros R-Thanks! I promise I will! :-)
this is great, Cat :)
"Rocks now sand
I’d take you ..." Yes, Catherine you have brought me to the water, rocks and sand, the ever changing sea, and too, the ever present change that defines who we choose to be.
Thank you for your visit to Apogee Poet - each on a sea faring reverie. I look forward to the delight of your offerings... so pleased to connect.
I love your willingness to accept everything the sea has to offer good and/or bad and the relationship that ensues. Good personification. Fascinating as always, Cat. Like the shape.
favorite lines:
".. I’d take you
Willingly watch your
Rages, comings and goings
If you’d soften my hard edges
Make me forget the ground.."
I want to be there on the beach in front of this incredible sculpture right this very minute. The poetry goes perfectly. I do just love, love and love some more the photo though. It evokes such deep feeling of ocean and natural beauty and solitude. Thanks for seeing this with your mind's eye.
the imagery reminds me so much of growing up on the ocean, and the emotions captured in your writing seem tempered with a sense of both lament and hope.
...very nice balance...
Oh, what a love story! And the waves, the perfect shape. Put song and sea together in the same breath, and already you have me hooked. This reminds me of a glorious song by Carolyn Hillyer about the Sand King and the Sea Witch, and the love between them.
How vulnerable our souls are when faced with the raging waves of emotions life delivers us!
It's not often that I'm at a loss for words, Catvibe, but I certainly am after reading this lovely poem. After traveling a lot of miles these last several months, it's good to know there is still a world of whimsy, haunting power, and union to experience.
This poem reminds me what a long time it has been since I've stood on the shore and felt the sand slip away from my feet. It seems like ages, and now I'm longing for that.
"I jumped rope
With seaweed grass
You spat out to dry upon
The shore, and yelled, yee hah!
Whipping and whirling the strand
Snapping in the air, it wrapped
My ankle, black and blue
Bruised, I fell, laughing,"
I want this feeling, Cat! "Rocks now sand" is brilliant.
Brilliant!!! I loved it Cat! The feeling it ensues is so delightful! I felt like being on the beach watching the deep blue-green ocean...Its so perfect!
GREAT WORK here!
Really lovely and I like how the rhythm makes you feel like its part of the sea:)
I love it, my friend! I'm always so impressed when I come over here. The spring video, your fiction, your poetry, your videos, artwork, etc. It's all so very beautiful. Your heart and lovely soul shine through in everything you do.
This poem is equally beautiful. I love those lines K mentions. I love the description of jumping rope with the seaweed grass, falling down, the bruised ankle. Then you follow it with this line: "Your mouth cooled." WOW! I jumped for joy when I saw that line. It's a beautiful description, but the line is also awesome "punctuation" for the end of that stanza.
I love the quiet voice of the poem, too. The form and rhythm are like the natural flow of the tide. The ending is powerful. I could go on and on:) How many times have I said "love" here? Yay! Excellent work, Cat!!
WOW! This is magnificient Cat. One of your best works that I've had the pleasure to read. LOVE THIS ONE!!!
Cat, this is exquisite, outstanding, with the perfect rhythm, whether one takes it literally or metaphorically. Bravo!
Hi Cat,
I admire that your words shape the rocks the way your want them to be.
The water, the salt, the distinct odor, and the sand make us all naked in front of joy.
oh this is good. This is really very good!
Nice one, Cat! I'll always have a soft spot for shape poems. I guess it's because I'm such a visual thinker.
I especially like the last stanza. The give and take of relationships is true no matter who (or what) the two parties are.
And, I just love the ocean....
:)
Noelle- Thanks :-)
Rose Marie -Great to see you, and I was so glad to find out from your blog that Monday was world ocean day. What a stunning coincidence! Looking forward to reading more of your blog and seeing your lovely paintings. :-)
K. Yes, I've been missing the ocean a lot lately, I've never been away from it this long! Thanks for your comments. :-)
Mom's Friend, well of all of us, you are the closest to that beach. It's the beach just across from Jughandle Ranch outside of Mendocino. Maybe the sculpture is still there? Although likely not, but the rocks are! If you go there, send me an image via the psychic radio waves.
Minister-Thanks, I imagine you must miss it too up there in Alberta. Ah, the ocean...
Rachel, Thanks for the song recommendation, I'll have to look that up! I'm the same way about oceans, and I'm going to have to see some of this Carolina coast this summer or I'll just, I'll just, well, just dissolve!
Margaret, Indeed that is true... :-)
Rick! I love it when your catly head makes an appearance! When are we going to see some of your newly inspired writings? All this travel must have inspired some new voices within, looking forward to the results!
Karen- You and me both sister. We should have a blogger's convention at the seaside I think.
Deepa-Thanks! :-)
Etain-Thanks! A lot of people mentioned the shape looks like rocks, but my intention was to make it look like waves coming and going. Sounds like you might have seen it that way. :-)
Julie-I'm glad you saw the form as tide, as that was my intention. :-) And I'm also glad you liked that line, that was my favorite line too. Probably because that actually really happened, and I did put my bruised ankle in the water to cool the sting of pain. Thanks so much, I always love your comments very much. :-)
Vesper- Thanks! I keep thinking of your statue poem, speaking of awesome poems. Wow.
Khaled- It is fun to do shape poems because although the form is 'free verse' there is still some form because of the shape, and I actually find that some kind of form helps me write better. Although in this case, it was the tide I was trying to emulate, which was actually quite wonderful to do, as it really put me there in the experience while writing. I always love seeing you here Khaled.
Thanks Geraldine! :-)
Hi Cat! (Gotta love someone with the name Cat ;-) I was just over at your blog, and I'll be back for more.
Aine- I love shape poems too. My first experience of shape poetry is through one of the many anthologies I stole from my father. Specifically, Dylan Thomas, who mastered shape poetry. I used to read it out loud while my friend played a hand drum. It was quite bohemian of us... Sadly, we live too far apart for such whimsy now.
Thanks so much for your comments, I always love your visits. :-)
Aine- Check out Dylan Thomas' poem called 'Vision and Prayer'
Cat, that was just beautiful! such open longing...awesome!
Cat, I wondered if the photo wasn't from Mendocino coast. I can usually feel vibes pulling me that way so passionate as I am about anything associated with theMendocino coast. I'm sure the sculpture isn't there any longer but your words today make me wonder what happened to it and I shall probably dwell on this though all day.
Am having lunch with your Mom on Friday at our favorite haunt in Hopland on the deck with red wine in tow. I sent her an email on your photo. It truly is haunting and she'll probably hear some more of my thoughts on it. I wanted to print it but wanted a larger size. I think it could be my muse.
Jorc- Thanks! I do miss the ocean here. I love the thunderstorms, but they just aren't the same...
Mom's Friend, shoot me an email and I'll gladly send you the full resolution version.
Love it, Cat! Like a dance. Loved it all, but especially "If you’d soften my hard edges
Make me forget the ground." -- that's awesome!
I also see an artistic presentation as in the shape that the words have taken, like arrows pointing into the future! :) whoo hoo! good for you!
sorry I took so long to get here sis...
~Calli
All things erode, but it's that feeling of returning to a "happy place" filled with turmoil and shouting joy in the wind.
Since it seems I may be meeting you soon (I'm Steveroni's wife) I figured I should visit your blog.
I liked what I read. I love poetry and writing it too. It expresses things that cannot be expressed in any other way...the inexpressible.
I read poetry and a lot of it I don't care for.But - I loved "A Song from the Sea".
Prayer Girl
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