Echoes of the Silent Shore

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Statue of Bernardin de Saint-Pierre characters Paul and Virginie in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris.

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Written 7 March 2025

Placed 10th in:

Echoes of the Silent Shore Poetry Contest

Sponsored by Mystic Rose Rose


                                    Echoes of the Silent Shore

                                 In the depths of the silent shore
                               Basking in the sun at Poudre d`Or,
                                 Where the rays of the rising sun
                                 Make their feast on the horizon,
                                Lies the sad wreck of Saint Géran
                               Sent to Isle de France* on errand.

                              It dipped down the depth of the sea
                                 With goods, people and Virginie
                               With Paul, her treasured soul ashore,   
                                Mourning one he could see no more
                                With the dream of his life shattered
                                   And his heart in pieces fractured.

                           Waves have washed the shore of the sea 
                                At Poudre d`Or for three centuries,
                                  But the mourning echoes of Paul
                                      Reverberate in lovers` soul
                                    And linger on the silent shore
                                        As vibrant as ever before.

                                 These echoes of the silent shore
                                Have turned to be the village lore
                                  And every year draws to its core
                                       Strings of visitors to adore
                                       Reminiscence of a sad tale
                                    Of real life blown by the gales.

                                     Woven with the web of fiction,
                                          Enriched by imagination,
                                 This woeful tale has been enshrined
                                  By a French pen with superb mind
                                 To reach frontiers of the wide world
                                     With flag of the island unfurled.

                                      Let echoes of the silent shore
                                       Stand as memory evermore
                                    To Paul`s and to Virginie`s tale
                                    That never in life will turn stale
                                   As long as lovers` loving hearts
                                    Are torn by hands of fate apart.

*The ship wrecked in 1744 off the coast of the island , then a French possession, later to become Mauritius when taken over by the British in 1810.

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