Of an evening spent down by the sea
with waves lapping there quietly
I’ll let the silence encapsulate me
At the end of a wonderful day
Of an evening with the sky painted pink
as my toes in the sand slowly sink
I have time to ponder and think
At the end of a wonderful day
Of an evening with sun on the wane
with the sky to the west all aflame
The sea brings its calming again
At the end of a wonderful day
Of an evening slowly coming to end
in this place I can always depend
It is good to spend time with my friend
At the end of a wonderful day
Over the years I have titled several poems with the preposition ‘of’ – so this last Jemverse mini-series of 2022 pulls some of those back together again
Reflections on the water
in a Brighton sky tonight
moonlight over flattened sea
the pier awash with light
Empty now the beach for chill
with precedence now rules
the water though inviting saved
for shivers and for fools
This serenity a picture
of fair Brighton by the sea
wonderful 'most any time
and a lovely place to be
Sunshine returned, it's cooler now
but the beach beckoned silent to me
and I heard its voice and quickened to that
with a wander down to the sea
Catching again the glimmer out there
as the sun on the water it shone
reminded me that these moments in time
need capturing lest they are gone
So I wandered a while on the shore with my friend
as the shingle crunched under my feet
watching the waves as out there they danced
at one with the world and complete
For it's there that I'm always the best I can be
I'm content in my happy place here
just watching the ocean, salt in the air
unbridled exuberance of cheer
Caught a bus into work
'cos the wind was quite high
and overnight it had blown
something onto the line
so the trains were all cancelled
but buses were still
accepting our tickets
for a walk with a will
But the walk was well worth it
and I made quite the most
as the route that it took
was alongside the coast
and the bonus awaiting
on the beach at the end
was a glimpse of the sunrise
which with words here I send
I watched the sea, it did me proud
I smiled at it and laughed out loud
The waves they roared, I roared right back
As I wasn’t having any of that
Alone on the stone with sun and spray
On a fine and perfect Autumn day
On the shoreline with the crashing sounds
That filled the air and shook the ground
Green and blue the waters came
Crashed and turned and crashed again
I shouted loud, could not be heard
As something in my heart had stirred
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
Something about the hand of the sea
and the tactile nature of things
it leaves in its wake for people to find
to pull at many heart strings
Something about the smooth of the feel
and the salt blended into the grain
that brings inspiration to a poet's mind
for words that will always remain
Something about the beauty that's there
it some flotsam often quite small
for a treasure that's found to have and to hold
is the 'je ne sais quoi' of it all
Went for a walk on the beach
in the morning
at first light of day when
most still were snoring
It was quiet and peaceful
just the sound of the sea
and the crunch of the shingle
the wave fall and me
Seagulls flying on the wing
on the beach as I
sit outside my beach hut
and watch them hover by
Indicative of all that is
a life beside the sea
this vista with the seagulls
is here a part of me
...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...