I take much of my inspiration for writing poetry from what is around me. I frequently write about that. When we are on the lookout for material needed for writing poetry, it is in fact, all around us. It seems to be hiding in plain sight...
I live approximately 300 metres from the sea. It's a pleasant walk out my back gate, along the reserve that runs between the houses in my immediate neighbourhood. The bay and its environs have provided a rich seam of writing ideas across the years. What is calling out to you? What is begging for a little of your poetic attention? Grab a pen and go for it!
Here is the latest poem inspired by the things around me.
Upon Fisherman’s Beach
-For Robert Louis Stevenson
Soft
blue is the ocean
Sun kissed wheat, the sand
The tide is low at morning
Waves ripple, gently fanned
Seaweed
strands are drifting
The shoreline dressed in foam
Boats at the anchor bobbing
Fish in the shallows roam
Onward
flows the ocean
Its waters dark and still
Beyond the far horizon
Large whales seek the krill
A figure
at the shoreline stands
The sandcastles wash away
The day ebbs towards the sunset
And silence claims the bay.
Sun kissed wheat, the sand
The tide is low at morning
Waves ripple, gently fanned
The shoreline dressed in foam
Boats at the anchor bobbing
Fish in the shallows roam
Its waters dark and still
Beyond the far horizon
Large whales seek the krill
The sandcastles wash away
The day ebbs towards the sunset
And silence claims the bay.
Alan j Wright
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It is Poetry Friday and our host this week is Margaret Simon at Reflections On The Teche. Margaret presents a busy post highlighting her job of rounding up participants in a progressive poem. She is also responding to poetic prompts across National Poetry Month in the USA and writing Fibonacci poems! Visit Margaret to uncover more...
Alan, thanks for sharing your water with us! I am in love with that last stanza especially. (Longfellow's The Tide Rise, the Tide Falls was my father's favorite poem, and I am reminded up that reading your post. Thank you!)
ReplyDeleteThanks Irene. Glad you like that final stanza. I am pleased with it too. Pleased my poem evoked memories of your father's favourite poem...
DeleteThis is a beautiful poem that washes my soul. What a wonder to see the sea every day.
ReplyDeleteVery kind of you, Margaret. I am indeed fortunate to live in a part of the world that affords me a daily glimpse of the sea. As a child i lived in the hills and valleys, so I have been blessed to live in wonderfully diverse locations throughout my life.
DeleteAnd just between you and me, I envy your wandering to the sea! ❤️ Thanks for the lovely poem, Alan, and taking us along even if through the "air" waves.
ReplyDeleteI should never take my good fortune for granted Linda. Pleased that you enjoyed my marine scene.
DeleteAlan, (I don't know why I can't post my name this time) this is Janice and I think you are a lucky man to live where you live, thought there is poetry everywhere. I felt as if I were at the beach with the sand castles washing away, the fish and the seaweed. Thanks for this wee respite from winter.
ReplyDeleteThat's a bit frustrating, Janice. It's something Google does unfortunately. I agree with you about my good fortune, but equally I agree with your contention that poetry exists everywhere. Having lived in a wide range of settings across my life, I find it a rich pot of possibilities for writing. I'm pleased you felt as if you were on the beach too, as you read my poem. Wishing you a sparkling spring season- when it finally bursts forth.
DeleteAlan, being a lover of the ocean and the beach, I am drawn to your poem and photos. "Sun kissed wheat, the sand" is a beautiful description of the color of the beach. In fact, your whole poem is descriptive that lulls be back to the beach. Unfortunately, we are no longer 15 minutes away from the ocean. Might you consider offering this poem and one of the photos for my new online gallery, Springsations? The invitation is at https://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2023/04/invitation-to-spingsations-gallery-vol-2.html. Have a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your most positive response Carol and your invitation. I shall endeavour to deliver to Springsations!
DeleteWhat luck that you have such an inspiring location right out your back door! But as you say, our poetic material is hiding in plain sight. I think my cherita for today (4/8) testifies to that!
ReplyDeleteI am lucky, Mary Lee to live close to the coast and all the inspiration that delivers. Wherever we reside, ideas abound. You are masterful at identifying them, no doubt about it.
DeleteEnjoyed your poem and all the photos. How lucky you are to live so close to the ocean. Thanks for this moment of peace and reflection.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jama. Peace and reflection should be a mainstay in all our lives...It's an aspiration I guess.
DeleteWhat a lyrical love song to water, Alan! Like the sea, poetry possibilities seem endless. My 300 metres (yards?) is into the desert - a space that might seem barren, filled with color and wonder. Thank you for sharing these photos, too. That last one feels like your words.
ReplyDeleteThanks Patricia. I think of desert as the heartland. As you rightly point out, there is much wonder to be found there. Glad you also enjoyed the photos I shared.
DeleteThank you for the reminder that poetry can be found on location. I surely felt like I was along the beach as I enjoyed your poem. The soft "s" sounds throughout the poem gave me the feeling of sitting in the sunset by the bay.
ReplyDeleteGlad you felt a sense of beachcombing as you read my poem Cathy. It is most gratifying when a reader feels such a connection.
DeleteAlan, your poem has such a lovely rolling rhythm that seems to echo the sea and calmness it offers, and what a treat to have that so close to you, thanks, and for the pics too!
ReplyDeleteIt's all down to the waves, Michelle. My location in the world is indeed a treat. I count myself fortunate. Grew up in the hills, but have lived half my life beside the sea. Interesting fact about Australia. Something like 80% of the inhabitants of this vast island continent live within two hours of the coast. We mass in millions close to our beaches with our backs to the massive and mystical inland. Glad you like the pictures too.
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