Gary Radice Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

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Originally published: 1st October 2019 

Revised and republished: 24th June 2022

Photo: gR

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Happiland

through a very small circle
and without reason
I once caught sight
of a magnified ship
'standing still'
out at sea

when it came into focus
it merged with the sky
that was grey
and was smudged
by the rain on the lens
like the whole world around it

not even the dog on the beach
barking and spinning in circles
while chasing whistles
that got lost 
on the razor blade wind
could detract

because for those
five misty-eyed minutes
before my sixpence ran out
life was safe and exciting 
with no
real meaning

that ship 
is still out there

anchored somewhere
inside childhood
 - out of time
out of season
and many many miles
from land.

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Sara Kendrick March 23, 2026 at 5:26 AM Congratulations on your winning work in Brian's contest. Way to go. Definitely a creative way to go. Sara K Gary Radice March 23, 2026 at 10:51 AM Sara, thank you. Your visit and comments are very much appreciated. Cheers - Gary

Laurentine G March 22, 2026 at 6:23 AM Great atmospheric write Gary, congratulations on your placement :) Gary Radice March 23, 2026 at 12:14 AM Thank you Laurentine. I was always fascinated as a child by how a ship far out at sea observed from distance always appeared to be stationary while it was moving. Like that ship, that image has remained as a still in my memory :) Cheers - Gary

Rowena Velasco August 11, 2025 at 1:59 AM Really lovely imagery here. That ship stuck in time feels so nostalgic and real. Thanks for sharing! Gary Radice August 11, 2025 at 2:17 AM My pleasure Rowena and thank you for your lovely comments. Cheers - Gary

Paula Goldsmith April 6, 2025 at 11:29 AM Congratulations on your win. I enjoyed reading your creative "Happiland" write. Great Picture. I love the ocean... Have a blessed day/week with your win...... Gary Radice April 7, 2025 at 11:53 AM Paula, thank you. I love the sea too. Well, looking and watching it rather than swimming in it. I took the photo in New Brighton, across the Mersey River looking towards Liverpool. Cheers - Gary

Silent One January 12, 2024 at 1:05 PM Congratulations on your placement in the contest... Gary Radice January 13, 2024 at 12:49 AM Likewise yourself Silent One. Cheers - Gary

Kai Michael Neumann November 15, 2022 at 9:49 AM That is a wonderful sentiment. I enjoyed reading this and it and it gave me some upbeat emotions. Thank you for sharing this. Kind wishes, Kai Gary Radice November 16, 2022 at 2:05 AM Thanks Kai. A snapshot from my childhood - and there's still that bit of a child in me now although the realities of adulthood tend to get in the way. :). Thanks again. Cheers - Gary

Linda Alice Fowler August 18, 2022 at 7:09 AM This is charming Gary. A 5p well-spent in Happiland. I enjoyed reading this very much. Linda Gary Radice August 31, 2022 at 10:48 PM Hi Linda. I missed reading your comment somehow so apologies for the delay. Thank you for your visit to Happiland and for your lovely comments. Cheers - Gary

Bryan Norton August 10, 2022 at 9:04 AM This one is really nice, Gary. I want to read this again and again. I like this kind of poem a lot, and you made it something great. Enjoy your day, Bryan. Gary Radice August 11, 2022 at 3:25 AM I will certainly enjoy my day Bryan - thanks so much for your kind comments. I've decided that I'll have another go at Free Verse in the very near future. Cheers - Gary

Elizabeth Mccann August 2, 2022 at 2:29 PM I'm glad your comment to me led me to this poem. The "no dog on the beach" so vividly sets that time apart, isolated in a particular time and place in memory. Etched into my mind. Elizabeth Gary Radice August 2, 2022 at 2:51 PM Hi Elizabeth. I remember being excited as a young lad just seeing this magnified ship appear in the pay telescope at Southsea England circa 1966. The idea of seeing something so close up yet it being so far away. The weather that day just added to the excitement of it all. It's funny what stays in the memory. Thanks for reading. Cheers - Gary

Paul Callus July 29, 2022 at 2:34 AM What a striking memory of childhood, Gary! I can relate to your words! I love the final lines which give this poem a fitting climax. ~Regards // paul Gary Radice July 29, 2022 at 9:33 PM Thank you Paul. I'm glad you enjoyed the poem and can relate to the words. Thanks so much for your visit and valued vomments. Cheers - Gary

Christopher Flaherty July 12, 2022 at 1:29 PM Maybe perhaps a Ghost Ship Happy to be all at Sea Gary Radice July 12, 2022 at 9:45 PM I like your interpretation Christopher. Thanks for the best. Cheers - Gary

Connie Marcum Wong July 10, 2022 at 2:56 PM Isn’t it wonderful that we have a memory that captures specific moments in time that we will never forget. A poet uses those moments that become great poetry. My best friend has Alzheimer’s and has forgotten me. We were friends for over 50 years. I feel so blessed that Alzheimer’s does not run in my family. I adored your look at the past through a child’s eyes Gary. You should include more Freeverse in your poetry as you are very talented at it. Blessings xxoo Gary Radice July 11, 2022 at 1:38 AM Thank you Connie. I'm so glad to be able to read your comments and poetry again here at PS. Alzheimer's is such a sad and tragic illness and very upsetting to those closest to those who have it. Free verse doesn't come easy to me, I think in all I have only written three pieces in my lifetime and they are up here at The Soup. I am going to attempt more however. Thank you for the encouragement. Cheers - Gary

Bill Baker July 5, 2022 at 3:07 PM A beautiful poem of an important moment in the childs life. It's much like a cherished moment in time as we age. Your imagery and descriptions are very engaging, Gary. I enjoyed the view ... all 5 mins of it. :-) A poet friend in Texas, Bill Gary Radice July 5, 2022 at 3:26 PM Thanks Bill. For some reason best known to my muse I find it harder writing free verse than I do writing rhyme. I've been very happy, therefore, with all the great comments this poem has received - including, of course, your lovely comments too Bill. Cheers - Gary

Sally Eslinger June 27, 2022 at 10:28 PM Gary, this is for me a delving narrative that passed a film before e, which put me into unexpected turn making your memory in the end mine. I found a mystery and sadness in it. Your well-chosen words set you as the remarkable cameraman to the huge scene, unforget - able to me, the child and poet.BRAVO! Gary Radice June 28, 2022 at 6:13 AM Thank you very much Sally. I love how you describe the poem having a mystery and sadness in it..that's exactly what I wanted to achieve. Cheers - Gary

Timothy Ray June 27, 2022 at 6:39 AM i can add little more than what John Watt did rather eloquently i might add....but in this limn is that charming, altho at times elusive, time of life held within as a snapshot you have gratefully reminded us of....eloquent execution...Hear! Hear! Gary Radice June 27, 2022 at 10:13 AM Thank you Timothy. I've now added the word limn to my mind's dictionary - what a brilliant word it is too! (To depict or describe in words) I'm a little behind in my reading of others' work at the moment but I will catch up with your recent work Timothy over the next couple of days. Cheers - Gary

John Watt June 24, 2022 at 9:51 AM Gary, I have come to regard you as a philosopher of nostalgia and this lovely write reinforces that esteem. I love how you turn your brief yet vivid childhood memory into a thoughtful musing on the adult looking back at childhood as though glimpsing it through a pay telescope. I really like the line "five misty-eyed minutes / before my sixpence ran out". Your ending is spectacular. A Fave for me. Cheers ~ John Gary Radice June 25, 2022 at 1:57 AM Thanks so much John. This is an edited version of my very first free verse poem I ever wrote in my early days at PS. I'm smiling now as I note the second line: "and without reason"..That's because the poem doesn't rhyme and has no reason to. Yep, this early poem has a smug iidiom type thing that only I could have ever understood at the time of writing as to what it was referring to :) Thanks again! Cheers - Gary

Michelle Faulkner June 24, 2022 at 8:47 AM This is so vivid, especially 'merged with the sky' and 'razor blade wind' - feels like I'm on the beach looking through the magnifier to glimpse the departing ship~ Gary Radice June 25, 2022 at 1:45 AM Thanks Michelle. I remember many a time looking through these telescopes as a child when we stayed near the beach. I loved doing so. Catching sight of a ship out to sea was enthralling for this 5 year old. The machine made a buzzing noise when the 6d ran out and suddenly everything would go blank. I can remember 55 years ago but ask me what I did last week and I'm struggling. :) Cheers - Gary