Gary Radice Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

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Originally published: 1st July 2023

Image: Rafael Frizzo from Pixabay

Poetry Soup's POEM OF THE DAY (3rd July 2023)

This Poem was placed 1st in the "YOUR CHOICE 2023" Premier Poetry Contest sponsored by Brian Strand (Judged 27th January 2024)

The British seaside as I remember it as a child

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The Stanzas By the Sea

I: In Rhyme

when the world had no headsets
the sunbathing crowd
fell asleep to the sounds of
transistors played loud
while the deckchairs and windbreaks
kites, beach balls and more
formed the stripes, lines and circles
that painted the shore
and the longer I walked
on the sand to that sea
the more the sea seemed
to get further from me
and the crunch in my mouth
was that one grain of sand
in the sandwich I ate 
with my sand covered hand
while the lemons and melons
and plums I'd watch spin
would stop short of a cherry
one click from a win
and the postcards we sent
from the end of the pier
were of blue skies and donkeys
and "wish you were here".


II: In Free Verse

from the end of the pier
through the stiff breeze
and spindrift
I can still hear the tunes
of the promenade bands

and I can still see the stripes
of the deckchairs and windbreaks
and the box kites
and beach balls
that painted the shore

and I can still taste
the butter
 - warm like the canned ham
and the crunch of that sand
in the sandwich I had

and I can still hear the djs
laughing and talking
spinning hits of the sixties
from transistors
played loud

and I can still smell the onions
frying wild in the fairground
to the sound of the claxons
and the lemon. click. orange. click. melon.
click. click.

and I can still breathe the deep smoke
swirling in sand dunes
from the benson and hedges
and 
player's no.6

and I can still see those grown ups
staring at mirrors
 - their bodies distorted
like the dreams
they once had

today on the pier
the rain that's now falling
falls from a same sky
on a same sand 
and same sea 

and a

same 

me

 - yet this air

this air
is not the same air
as that air I
once 
breathed.

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Valsa George April 14, 2026 at 5:17 AM Such a wonderful experience of being in the beach and the sensual involvement you had there. Thanks for graciously sharing your experience with us. Your narration has the swift flow of tides coming to kiss the shore. Thoroughly enjoyed, dear friend. Congratulations on your trophy win. Gary Radice April 14, 2026 at 11:53 PM Valsa thanks so much for your valued comments. Whenever I write a poem about the beach it tends to write itself :) Cheers - Gary

Ghairo Daniels August 13, 2025 at 8:42 PM Oh wow ! In such different countries & I have the same memories of the beach. So weird. I do even feel that horrible grit of white sand that got into cheese & tomato sandwiches. A fav ! Gary Radice August 14, 2025 at 11:23 PM Ghairo, thanks so much. Hey, you too with that sand and sandwich combo? LOL! So it wasn't just me then. :) Cheers - Gary

Greg Gaul August 10, 2025 at 7:43 AM That crunch of the sand from the sandwich will always stay with me. It's the wee noticing that we all have had yet never write about or share. Hyper intimate thoughts make for great poetry. Well done Gary. GG Gary Radice August 10, 2025 at 7:59 AM Thanks Greg. Memories often write my poems and the UK seaside was one of the happiest places I ever visited as a child. It seems that all my five senses remember those visits too. It's funny what we poets remember :) Cheers - Gary

Karen Croft August 28, 2024 at 5:17 PM Every year we go to the beach in March and I love the smell and the air and the tastes and the feel of everything that the beach has to offer. Enjoyed reading. Gary Radice August 29, 2024 at 3:15 AM Thanks for reading and for your comments Karen. I just love the beach and seaside too. The beach IS poetry isn't it? :) Cheers - Gary

Lairyck Beliveau August 22, 2024 at 5:59 PM I can relate to this. A yearning for an era long gone. I miss my life before the city. I grew up on campfires and the sound of freshwater crashing against the stones of their river beds. I remember how happy we were when mom was still young. There's a lot of symmetry between this poem and my own childhood too. Thanks for the nostalgia. Gary Radice August 23, 2024 at 2:11 AM Thanks Lairyck. "The happy highways where I went.." Cheers - Gary

Anisha Dutta August 10, 2024 at 6:39 AM Congrats for this Excellent composition. Have Geed Days Gary Radice August 11, 2024 at 2:46 AM Thank you Anisha. I will. :) Cheers - Gary

Frances Schiavina August 5, 2024 at 8:43 AM congratulations Gary on captivating trophy winning poem. A masterpiece! Gary Radice August 5, 2024 at 9:44 AM Thank you Frances for your valued comments. They're very much appreciated. Cheers - Gary

Paige Hind August 2, 2024 at 8:33 AM Breathtaking work. Gary! I loved your style, and the whole poem was nostalgic, the flow perfect! :) Gary Radice August 2, 2024 at 3:02 PM Thank you Paige. Cheers - Gary

Sam Kauffman July 26, 2024 at 10:13 AM Simply amazing, Gary! Your muse was definitely not playing hard to keep as she inspired this poem so full o summer's delight! It has a flow like the tides and the natural pattern of your rhymes is so lyrical. Congratulations on your trophy win! Blessings and cheers! Gary Radice July 30, 2024 at 10:55 PM Thanks Sam and apologies for not replying earlier. I wrote this poem about a year ago and my muse must have thought at the time that she'd stay on at the seaside for one long holiday after I left. :) The trophy came as a surprise. Thanks for your lovely comments Sam. Cheers - Gary

Andrea Dietrich July 2, 2024 at 9:39 AM Wow poetry. Congrats on that trophy Gary Radice July 2, 2024 at 11:33 AM Thanks Andrea. I was extra pleased with the trophy as I tend not to write free verse. Cheers - Gary

Silpika Kalita March 18, 2024 at 3:06 PM Belated congratulations on the deserving won. How the transformation from that era to this one is catched with all the true elements which was encompassing once as blessed, now lost, have only regrets now. A great write from all prospects. Regards Gary Radice March 19, 2024 at 6:55 AM Thank you Silpika for your very kind words. This is one of those poems that just wrote itself once started. Cheers - Gary

Jessica C. Wheeler March 4, 2024 at 2:35 PM Gary, this is a stunning piece of poetry. You stir all the senses and draw out emotions, with beautiful lines that flow like a river! Your writing is truly transportive. Xo Jess Gary Radice March 5, 2024 at 2:19 AM Thank you Jess for your lovely comments. I tend to write in rhyme as a rule and even on the rare occasion I write free verse I find myself adopting a rhyming flow with my words and have to remind myself that lines actually don’t need to rhyme. :). Cheers - Gary

Andrea Dietrich February 27, 2024 at 1:26 PM gosh this is SO awesome. I am going to fave it. I saw you got a trophy for it and now I know WHY. Belated congrats for the POTD Gary Radice February 28, 2024 at 2:28 AM Thank you Andrea. The seaside crops up in many of my poems. I still love visiting it today but of course much of that childhood wonder has gone. Cheers - Gary

Daniel Henry Rodgers February 22, 2024 at 11:42 AM Dear Gary, Your poem takes me on a nostalgic journey to the seaside of yesteryears, where memories of sun, sand, and simpler joys paint vivid images. Your vivid descriptions evoke a longing for the past, filled with the bygone days' sounds, tastes, and smells. The contrast between then and now is palpable, yet the essence of those moments remains etched in memory. A vert heartfelt reflection on the passage of time and the enduring power of nostalgia. - Blessings, Daniel Gary Radice February 22, 2024 at 9:27 PM Daniel, thank you so much. You've summed up so wonderfully everything I was trying to capture when I wrote the poem. Cheers - Gary

Susan Ashley February 19, 2024 at 7:04 PM Dear Gary, applause applause! I was enthralled by your "stanzas by the sea". Your alluring poems captures nostalgia with wistful elegance and a melancholy eloquence. Loved the vibrant imagery! Your exquisite poem brought back memories of my beach days as a kid too. Your rhyme and free verse blend together beautifully and your final stanza is a potent and poignant finale to an intimate, incredible piece. Your should definitely apply your golden pen to free verse more often, my friend. Warmest wishes.. ~Susan Gary Radice February 20, 2024 at 8:11 AM Thank you Susan. Yes, I’m going to give free verse another go. For some weird reason each time I have attempted it in the past I’ve found myself trying to rhyme lines…I find it difficult to break the habit of a lifetime. :) Thank you for your encouraging comments. I truly appreciate them. Cheers - Gary

Suzanne Delaney January 1, 2024 at 4:04 PM Wonderfully atmospheric and I found a certain rhythm and cadence that engaged all the senses and sights you recounted. I can see why it was made a POTD. Belated Congratulations, SuZ Gary Radice January 2, 2024 at 1:40 AM Hi Suz! Happy New Year to you and your family. Thank you for your lovely comments. Originally both these poems were published separately but after pulling both from the Soup and then revising both I decided that they worked well together. :) Thanks again. Cheers - Gary

Roger Roger December 29, 2023 at 6:02 PM This is beautiful... Congratulations... I agree with your point... There is no better time than when technology and modernization did not yet bring ruin... Gary Radice December 30, 2023 at 1:57 AM Thanks RB. The seaside was full of wonder for me as a child. I wonder though if my parents thought the same about technology and modernization being the ruin back then? :) I appreciate your comments. Cheers - Gary

Greg Gaul November 29, 2023 at 12:52 PM Gary, lotsa strong imagery wrapped in unique phrasing and rhyme. A tour de force in the telling. Well done dear bard. Gary Radice November 30, 2023 at 3:31 AM Much appreciated Greg. I just picture myself 'there' once again and write what I can see around me; those moments in time that for some reason have stayed with me all these years. Cheers - Gary

Paul Callus October 8, 2023 at 1:57 AM Oh how fast memories start coming back through images, songs and smells, Gary! And with them wistfulness, and the yearning to go back in time. I spent my summer childhood days on the beach, so I can well relate to this poem. ~ Regards // paul Gary Radice October 8, 2023 at 2:09 AM Thanks Paul. I placed myself inside the sights and smells and sounds from those long hot summers of childhood and the words just flowed. Cheers - Gary

Richard Lamoureux October 4, 2023 at 6:26 AM I’m not surprised it’s popular. I enjoyed this nostalgic piece with its undertow of sadness. Gary Radice October 5, 2023 at 6:43 AM Thank you Richard for your valued comments. I tend to write nostalgia with a fair degree of wistfulness that's for sure. "The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there." :) Cheers - Gary

Charlotte Puddifoot September 10, 2023 at 3:49 AM how did i miss reading this one? i love everything about it, it's so real and vivid..as i've said before, you have a very unique writing style, i always enjoy your work..it's definitely not the same air we once breathed, it's now polluted by chemtrails Gary Radice September 10, 2023 at 8:57 AM Thanks Charlotte. Its popularity has taken me by surprise to be honest but I can only summise that many can identify with some of the changes that have taken place over the years. The air, sadly, has certainly changed. Physically and metaphorically. Cheers - Gary

Linda Milgate September 4, 2023 at 10:50 AM brings back so many memories, looks like others experienced them as well. thank you! Gary Radice September 4, 2023 at 10:21 PM Thank you Linda. The long hot summers of childhood provide so much material for many of my poems. :) Cheers - Gary

Jeff Connelly September 2, 2023 at 3:14 PM Is this computer generated Gary?... Just joking... Gary Radice September 2, 2023 at 11:42 PM If it is Jeff it's been to the same places I've been and lived the same life I have - which is a scary thought. :) Cheers - Gary

Paula Goldsmith August 29, 2023 at 9:32 AM I enjoyed reading your wonderful summer write. I love the sea air. Have a blessed/ great day............. Gary Radice August 29, 2023 at 11:56 PM There's nothing better than the sea air is there? Thanks Paula. Cheers - Gary

Craig Cornish August 21, 2023 at 4:05 AM So many memories - so much fun and such a clever portrayal, not only taken back but it's summer no matter when you were to read this...smiling! Gary Radice August 21, 2023 at 7:48 AM I read you and I hear you Craig. Thank you so much for taking time out to write such a great response. Cheers - Gary Craig Cornish August 21, 2023 at 6:43 AM I did catch that Gary, but funny in a thoughtful way, as John Barrymore opined, "A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams" and you're correct, it's not the same air but it doesn't mean it's worse air. That's the perfect definition of a poem, one that "stirs" thoughts in the reader and you did that with me. I'm 75 now and 10 years ago I would have read it differently, perhaps more like you intended but age and perceptions are so dynamic which is why poems like yours are so poignant in a moving way. Gary Radice August 21, 2023 at 5:44 AM Thanks Craig for your kind comments. I attempted to capture the atmosphere of the seaside as I experienced as a child. Of course, in time, and with age, the excitement ( 'the air' in the free verse's last lines) wanes to the point of disapearing altogether. Cheers - Gary

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