STRANGERS NO MORE
The wave-dancing, endless crashing
water music welcomes me
to the sun-blistering,
crazy-quilted beach.
Where towel-unfurling placement is an art,
and undertow-racing, deep-hole digging children
scream f o r e v e r. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Their voices carried off by ocean breezes,
drowned out by seagull-screeching songs.
Where eager bathers dodge the sea-foamy shore,
and summer-heat's magic becomes a healing balm.
Where strangers share their bits of sand-tinged tapestries,
tip-toeing around with care.
© 2020 by Janet Clare Fagal. All rights reserved.
Buffy Silverman has challenged us to write a poem that uses combined or invented words. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.
Post your poem on our February 2020 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration this Friday, February 28th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her nonfiction poetry picture book from Millbrook Press:
This is great, Janet! I especially love
ReplyDelete"and summer-heat's magic becomes a healing balm."
It's exactly how I feel when at the beach.
Thanks, Rebekah. I have such great beach memories from childhood. It is truly a happy place to be in my mind.
DeleteJanet
Gorgeous poem, Janet. I’m in this moment through the words.
ReplyDeleteOh and I bet you have been to the beach I am talking about. And others. I miss those days. Thank you for your lovely comment. I love to close my eyes and feel the sun and remember those happy times. Janet
DeleteThanks for taking me to the "crazy-quilted" (LOVE!) beach today, Janet. Such a lovely poetic getaway!
ReplyDeleteI would run to a beach right now if I could. But there is something about the summer and the camaraderie of strangers all spaced along the sand. Nice to have been able to put the memory into words thanks to you and Buffy! Now to brush off the sand! (Have you ever been to the iconic Jones Beach on Long Island? I hunted for a photo to use but nothing I could find and use captured the picture I had in mind so decided to let the poem make its own version!) Thanks for featuring my poem, Michelle.
ReplyDeleteJanet
Janet
I have, indeed, been to Jones Beach! It's the beach I went to each summer as a child growing up in Westchester County. :D
DeleteWell, that is so cool! Where in Westchester Co.? Since we lived on the north shore we usually were at the beach in our town, but a trip to the ocean was so special. And all those towels arrayed, and the sun and sand and water, an image to bask in even when I don't get there too often!!! But some. I can see how you "get" this poem!! I am drawn to water.
DeleteSo much fun to imagine the wave-dancing, endless crashing water music with its seagull-screeching songs (especially while watching the snow that's falling today!)
ReplyDeleteOh, the snow. We are in the snow belt! And maybe it will be tough on Friday, but it depends on the wind. So I will be imagining summer and the beach for sure. I really do love the word-combing fun and clarity they can add to a poem. Thanks for this challenge and I do look forward to sharing your book!
ReplyDeleteJanet
Late to this beach party, Janet, but it's a joy to think of the beach any time of day. This is wonderful, all those special things remembered. I love the particular emphasis on those towels! "crazy-quilted beach./Where towel-unfurling placement is an art,(profound observation!)
ReplyDeleteAnd I know you love some beaches like on the Gulf!! I am missing the beach more today. Winds are howling, the small amount of snow is swirling and I am thinking BEACH would be nice. There is such a happy vibe. And I love the polka-dotting cover up the sand receives, not to mention the umbrellas and now the chairs. But those towels and blankets (or "blanklets" as my Laina would say) and sheets of long-ago-use always left such a picture in my mind. Truly treasured memories those beach days!
DeleteLove it. I've been there, and I wish I were there now.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave. We are having windy snow in our area. Some NE of us are getting FEET of lake effect!!!
Delete