Within the whispers of the shore
Where waves unload at beach’s door
Lies a tale of grains of sand
Gifted by the oceans grand.
In pockets, cracks and corners deep
Grains finds a home, a place to sleep
A tiny stash of sandy gold
A story waiting to be told.
From every shore, sand is shifted
To parts unknown, grains are lifted
On gusts of wind, they hitch a ride
Dispersing beach-sand far and wide.
A reminder of the changing sea
Grains of sand spread randomly
In nooks and crannies they now sit
These tiny specks of ocean grit.
So let us treasure grains of sand
In pockets, towels, across the land
For in their journey, we may find
Travellers of a different kind.
Alan j Wright
It is once again Poetry Friday and our genial host this time is Janice Scully from Salt City Verse.Salt City Verse. Janice highlights the new poetry anthology, Picture Perfect Poetry, edited and published by Carol Labuzzetta. The book features ekphrastic poetry with a nature theme. A number of poets featured are part of the Poetry Friday Community.
Alan, this is all too accurate! Any time I step near a beach, I inadvertently bring buckets of sand home, sometimes in places to be discovered at a much later date. Tiny specks of ocean grit! : )
ReplyDeleteSandy grains- quite subversive. Sneaky hitchhikers. Thank you Tracey for your gritty response.
Delete'Travellers of a different kind,' What a great way to end this poem. You've got rhythm and beat and a great new way of thinking about sand. I've only ever wanted to get rid of it! Now, I may take a second look and at least politely pile it in a place outside and not in my trash bin! Great job.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the closing line, Linda. I suspect you will now look at sand quite differently. I read somewhere it takes one hundred years for a grain of sand to travel one mile down a river. No wonder beach sand hitches a ride!
DeleteAlan, the subject of your poem is so imaginative. A grain of sand is quite a traveler! Your rhyme flowed and read aloud it's marvelous! Thanks for sharing this. I guess your beach time is drawing to an end with fall, until next year.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind response regarding my poem. Living so close to the beach, we tend to access it throughout the year. The activity certainly changes, but the appeal of the shoreline remains.
DeleteAt first, I thought "Sandy Grains" was a person & actually when I read it again, it works as a being, too. The poem reminds me of the numerous times I've returned home from a beach vacation to find those intriguing grains in a pocket or two, and the creases of my luggage. I look forward to reading about more 'tiny things', Alan!
ReplyDeleteThe title was deliberately misleading, Linda. Beach sand is a renowned international traveller. More tiny things are in the works...
DeleteAlan this clever - and made me think of my own home. My daily beach walks - and the fact I take one very energetic, hairy, dog with me, means that sand is my constant companion - in my house, my car, my clothes..
ReplyDeleteWe all experience differing relationships with sand, Sally. Our beach dog is a sand conveyor too. It is most certainly a constant in our lives. I guess it's the price we pay for the privilege of our beachside locations. Glad you liked the poem.
DeleteThe rhyme and rhythm are spot on in this poem! I love your focus on the dynamic journeys of grains of sand. I've never been a huge fan of the sand that gathers on sticky sun-kissed skin or beach towels, but this poem gives me a new, and much appreciated, lens for those small, dedicated grains!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Molly. We can never quite know how far some of those gritty little granules have traveled before we discover them residing in our homes.
DeleteSo delightful to personify Mr. Sandy Grains. With his "humanity" I have much more sympathy for him -- since in my family, he gets scoffed at quite often.
ReplyDeleteSandy Grains a little more understood perhaps, Patricia?
DeleteLove this, Alan! And so true! I often find wonder looking at tiny pebbles and even tinier grains of sand and imagining their global travels.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Laura. the things we ponder, eh?
DeleteOh, you've made me miss the ocean and the beach and its ubiquitous sand. :)
ReplyDeleteMy messenger bag always has beach sand in it at the end of summer. Thanks, Karen, it is indeed ubiquitous.
DeleteAlan, what a great rhyme and rhythm you created for your traveling sand grains poem. It was fun to read, and I had time to think about the sand in my swimsuit and shoes as a child.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind response to my poem, Denise. Those tiny grains readily evoke memories, particularly around childhood.
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