At the ebb of a tide I'll slink to the shore
and though nought to hide I'll be back for more
for this is my movement and what I am for
as I am the shifting sea
When winds they are blowing and barometer falls
my numbers will swell as angry it calls
and out there my whitecaps dance in the squalls
as I am the shifting sea
In all of the seasons be it frigid or heat
my inclemency matches the mood to be sweet
with my music and rhythm thrummed to the beat
as I am the shifting sea
Lurking fog and drizzle falling
the sea a greyish green
Waves like monstrous ogres rising
tossed by winds unseen
Alone on dampened shingle
taste of salt upon my lips
Braced to ocean’s vigour
gazing out to windward ships
I am the only audience
for this winter serenade
A symphony composed for one
perfect and uniquely made
This cacophony splendid
sounds cherished as my own
To me triumphant music
with cymbal crash and moan
Rhythm dragged across the shingle
drumbeat on the wooden groyne
Turns the staid and older man
back to the winsome boy
Enraptured there I listen
as the music builds and plays
My heart a-flutter, eyes for tears
a glorious malaise
And as the white surf slips away
tumultuous applauds
Along with cries ‘Encore! Encore!’
I hanker after more.
[Music was first penned back in the late 1980s (I don’t have a precise date); first added to Jemverse in May 2014 and then reposted in August 2019 and again today]
Sometimes a little whimsy
hankers after mixtape years
when a cassette tape and a pencil
and some tunes for joy and tears
were all I sometimes needed
to drive the blues away
ninety minutes of recording
on a dull and rainy day
But hoorah, I still have playlists
so I'll get in there with the sound
and compile a list together
that's the best playlist around
For music is the healer
the best physician that I know
with my AirPods loudly blasting
for the best get up and go
There's a Millennium Falcon built in Lego on the side
my drum in the far corner which I banged loud with Pride
Evidence of music which is a passion as you'll know
my PS Five and TV - this is a place I go
to while away the hours that I have when being me
be that music, games or writing - it is a place to be
I've had several of the 'one' days
to see me right this year
the 'Elbow' sense of wonder
for a dose of joy and cheer
But this morning throwing wide
the curtains in my room
the autumn sunshine out there
made it feel like it was June
So I had an 'Elbow' moment
and put it into play
seized and used to fulness
throughout this perfect day
[The ‘Elbow moment’ referred to here is inspired by the lyrics from their ‘One day like this’ song featuring on their 2008 album ‘The Seldom seen Kid’. “So throw those curtains wide, one day like this a year would see me right”]
Concluding the Jemverse series ‘Music II’ [10 of 10]
I am music and pleasure
for those with an ear
Hours of contentment
for freedom and cheer
I give goosebumps and shivers
those down the spine
when you hear something good
or especially fine
Heavy scent floating in the air
with sunshine after the rain
The music echoes with a sweet
harmonious refrain
Daisy-like the clusters sing
the Elderflower’s song
and breathing deep the fragrance
I hum and sing along
Alone on the shingle
Salt in my mouth
Braced against wind
Looking to South
Out there in the green
Waves rise and fall
As I listen again
To familiar call
A song just for me
The swoop and the cry
The sea and its music
As seagulls fly by
Radio in the early hours
heard whilst half asleep
Subliminal soft whispers
just enough to keep
Songs that come the daybreak
are still inside my head
So I’ll look them up on Youtube
and watch the video instead
Songs that paint a picture
that’ll see me through the day
helping shape life’s moments
in ways words can’t portray
Radio in the early hours
music ever there
Even when I’m half asleep
and mostly unaware
...all about me and my life in words. I write most days, carrying an ideas book around in which I capture a word snapshot of life around me. So there's a lot here about Sussex and the sea and anything else I see that inspires.
The pictures are mine too. Some taken to match a poem; some poems written to match a pic; others chosen because they work well with words written.
Jemverse is life in words. Hope you enjoy the reading as much as I enjoy the writing...
Jemverse 